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• We analyzed the relationship between suicide rate and GCI in nine former Soviet countries and nine European and Asian countries. • Suicide rate was related to GCI in six of the nine former Soviet Union countries and in three of the nine European and Asian countries. • Attention should be paid to poor or worsening GCI values for suicide prevention in countries of the former Soviet Union. Investigations of suicide in countries of the former Soviet Union, which broke into 15 different countries in the early 1990s, require examinations of a combination of economic, social, and health factors. It is important to address these factors individually and to examine the various composite indicators for each. Moreover, it would be worthwhile to explore the potential applicability of a comprehensive worldwide index. We analyzed data from nine of the former Soviet countries for which both the annual suicide rate and the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) were available for the years 2006–2017. We determined the precise relationships between the suicide rate and the GCI during this period in these nine countries as well as in nine countries with high suicide rates in Europe and Asia. The results indicated the following: (i) In six of the nine former Soviet countries with complete data, the suicide rate showed a relationship with the GCI. Notably, this relationship was inverse in all but one country. (ii) Among the nine European and Asian countries with high suicide rates, three exhibited a correlation between the suicide rate and the GCI. Measures to prevent suicide should be devised especially in countries of the former Soviet Union through collaboration among multiple fields and organizations, as necessary, with particular attention paid to countries with worse or worsening GCI values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 4.0 provides an annual evaluation of country-level productivity and development in the fourth industrial revolution era. The GCI 4.0 is classified into 12 pillars representing socioeconomic, financial, health, technological, and other factors of production. Country risk, which is an aggregate measure of country-level exposure to financial, political, and economic risks, can influence national development. This study explores the association between country risk and competitiveness by mapping country risk drivers to GCI and GCI pillars to country risk. Two Bayesian Belief Network models, with a minimum prediction accuracy of 81.3 %, are developed using two data-sets representing the GCI and country risk ratings of 107 countries. Sensitivity analysis reveals that low performance in information and communication technology (ICT) adoption (monetary policy) can significantly affect country risk (GCI), whereas innovation capability (financial system risk) and institutions (legal system) can considerably improve country risk (GCI). By delving into how the pillars of competitiveness interact with various risk factors such as political stability, economic volatility, and regulatory environment, decision-makers, investors, and policymakers can gain valuable insights that guide effective resource allocation, risk mitigation strategies, informed policy formulation, and sustainable development efforts. • Probabilistic network models are developed to explore the association between country risk and competitiveness. • Two datasets are used to calibrate and validate the models. • Global competitiveness is explored through the lens of risk science. • A comprehensive sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the relative importance of individual risk drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The logistics performance of a country is crucial to national and international trade, and therefore has a direct effect on economic development. Owing to limited resources, policymakers need a guide for specifying the factors that need to be focused upon to bring about immediate and significant improvements in the logistics performance of their countries. This study aims to propose a methodology to develop a roadmap for policymakers in improving the logistics performance of their countries. For this purpose, we analyze the effect of the competitiveness pillars of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) on logistics performance (as measured by the Logistics Performance Index (LPI)), using a three-stage integrative methodology based on a tree-augmented naive Bayesian network, partial least square path model, and importance-performance map analysis. An empirical study is conducted using the GCI pillars of the World Economic Forum and the LPI of the World Bank. The results indicate that governments should focus on technological readiness, higher education and training, innovation, market size, and infrastructure to facilitate improvement in the logistics performance of their countries. • We propose a methodology to develop policy suggestions for improving logistics. • BN-TAN and PLS Path Model are integrated. • Data of Global Competitiveness Index and Logistic Performance Index are used. • Priority should be given to technological readiness and higher education and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first study that comprehensively evaluates and compares the average costs of six types of 4061 registered clean development mechanism (CDM) projects. The projects were conducted from 2005 to 2014 by industrialized countries investing in host countries that had various technology and income levels. Specifically, this study compares the average costs of emission reduction for each type of project; projects were used by industrialized countries to achieve specific emission reductions commitments. The lowest average cost per ton of reduced emissions found in renewable energy projects, fuel switch projects, supply-side energy efficiency improvements, and demand-side energy efficiency improvements, all of which were effectively reduced emissions by less than 1 million tons in host countries with high technology levels and upper-medium income levels. The average cost for the other two project types, methane reduction and methane avoidance, showed that these projects were more effective at reducing emissions by more than 50 million tons in host countries with upper-middle technology levels and upper-medium income levels. These lowest average costs for different project types can guide project selection by industrialized countries seeking the lowest total emission reduction costs. Selection of CDM project investments by industrialized countries should account not only for the technology and income levels of host countries but also for the amounts by which industrialized countries have committed to reducing their emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it possible for a country to be commercially competitive and at the same time protect the environment and social welfare? The recent (2011) initiative by the World Economic Forum to complement their well-known competitiveness rankings of nations with data on sustainability is here reinterpreted in terms of a general model of social and economic policy, using productivity and sustainability variables as policy goals, and the eleven so-called “pillars” of the Forum as policy instruments. Aiming further than just calculating a simple index, however, we consider the full multi-dimensional problem facing each nation maximizing its social preference for the goals, given its corresponding social policy costs. The solution to this optimization problem splits the nations into two categories: (i) those achieving the maximally doable, tracing the “frontier” or upper envelope to the scatter of data points and (ii) sub-optimal and thus under-achieving nations falling behind the envelope. Using the Forum data for 125 nations in 2013, we identify the frontier and sub-frontier nations. For each suboptimal nation we identify its “peers” on the frontier suggesting how its sustainable competitiveness might be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption is one of the persistent problems of the societies over years and it affects the credibility of public institutions and its ambassadors in front of the citizens and of the other related countries. Around the world, all nations complain of corruption and, as it is observed in the Corruption Perception Index 2012, no country has a maximum score which shows that a country is totally clean. Corruption, as a public institutions’ manner of action, will influence and affect the economical outcomes, being materialized in the decline of the national competitiveness. This is the most frequent approach in the discussion about the correlation between these two variables. Contrary, the aim of this study is to analyze if corruption is influenced by national competitiveness and to show the nature of this influence. Analyzing the national competitiveness data from The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 and the data about corruption from Corruption Index 2012, the results reveal the existence of a strong positive connection between these two indexes, the level of national competitiveness significantly influencing the perception of corruption from a country. It is observed from the analysis that countries rated as having a small national competitiveness rate are perceived to be more corrupt than the more competitive countries. In conclusion, the standard of living, the rate of employment, the productivity, the commercial equilibrium, the national attractiveness, the ability of objective implementation, the flexibility and ability of sustaining growth which define the national competitiveness concept are direct determinants of the corruption perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]