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The sustainable competitiveness of nations

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  • Thore, Sten
  • Tarverdyan, Ruzanna

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Thore, Sten & Tarverdyan, Ruzanna, 2016. "The sustainable competitiveness of nations," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 108-114.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:106:y:2016:i:c:p:108-114
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2016.02.017
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    Cited by:

    1. Mohammad Soltani Delgosha & Tahereh Saheb & Nastaran Hajiheydari, 2021. "Modelling the Asymmetrical Relationships between Digitalisation and Sustainable Competitiveness: A Cross-Country Configurational Analysis," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 1317-1337, September.
    2. Thore, Sten, 2022. "Sustainable development goal deficits and the Covid 19 pandemic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    3. Żmuda Małgorzata, 2017. "Towards a Taxonomy of International Competitiveness," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 25(3), pages 97-116, September.
    4. Iwona Bąk & Katarzyna Wawrzyniak & Maciej Oesterreich, 2022. "Competitiveness of the Regions of the European Union in a Sustainable Knowledge-Based Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-22, March.
    5. Mohammad Soltani Delgosha & Tahereh Saheb & Nastaran Hajiheydari, 0. "Modelling the Asymmetrical Relationships between Digitalisation and Sustainable Competitiveness: A Cross-Country Configurational Analysis," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-21.
    6. Danijela Despotovic & Slobodan Cvetanovic & Vladimir Nedic & Milan Despotovic, 2019. "Social Aspects of Sustainable Competitiveness in the Selected European Countries in the Period 2012–2015," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 841-860, January.
    7. Waqas, Muhammad & Yahya, Farzan & Ahmed, Ammar & Rasool, Yasir & Hongbo, Li, 2021. "Unlocking employee's green behavior in fertilizer industry: the role of green HRM practices and psychological ownership," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 24(5), May.
    8. Kara, Karahan & Yalçın, Galip Cihan & Acar, Avni Zafer & Simic, Vladimir & Konya, Serkan & Pamucar, Dragan, 2024. "The MEREC-AROMAN method for determining sustainable competitiveness levels: A case study for Turkey," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    9. Carlos Giannoni & Luis Fernando Alarcón & Sergio Vera, 2017. "Diagnosis of Sustainable Business Strategies Implemented by Chilean Construction Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, December.
    10. Alonso-Martínez, Daniel, 2018. "Social progress and international patent collaboration," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 169-177.
    11. Catalin GRADINARU & Sorin-George TOMA & Stefan CATANA, 2021. "Sustainability And Competitiveness At The Global Level: An Analysis Of The Top 10 Countries In The Period 2018-2020," Contemporary Economy Journal, Constantin Brancoveanu University, vol. 6(3), pages 121-128.

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