Only Zimbabwe and Burundi have worse macroeconomic stability than Jamaica.

According to the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2009-2010, released in September, Jamaica ranked third from last on macroeconomic stability in a grouping of 133 countries.

But the country’s overall ranking for competetiveness also fell from last year. Simultaneously, Jamaica fell in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), travel and tourism competitiveness, and global information technology readiness, suggesting a failure of governance to establish strong fundamentals underpinning economic growth and development.

The GCR showed Jamaica falling 13 places over two years to 91 out of 133 countries on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which was developed for the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The GCI measures 12 criteria but Jamaica performed the worst on macroeconomic stability – it was ranked third from last.

Jamaica’s ranking for its high national debt was 130 of the 133 countries, its budget deficit, 107, an overall low national savings rate, 127, high inflation,124, and interest rate spread, 102, making Jamaica’s overall ranking for macroeconomic stability 131.

“The strong interdependence among the world’s economies makes this a truly global economic crisis in every sense. Policymakers are presently struggling with ways of managing these new economic challenges, while preparing their economies to perform well in a future economic landscape characterised by growing uncertainty,” Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum said in a release. “In a difficult global economic environment, it is more important than ever for countries to put in place strong fundamentals underpinning economic growth and development.”

In the 2007-2008 period, Jamaica was ranked 78 out of 131 countries. The following year, it fell eight places to 86 out of 134 countries, and now is five places below last year.

The GCI also measures the quality of the country’s institutions, infrastructure, goods and market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market sophistication, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation, higher education and training, and health and primary education.

On a range of one to seven, one being the least competitive, Jamaica gets a score of 3.8.

Some action has been taken towards implementing plans and initiatives aimed at setting Jamaica on a path to sustained growth such as the Vision 2030 National Development Plan, which generally aims at a developed country status by 2030, and the National Export Strategy (NES) on which the outcomes of global competitiveness in trade is leveraged.

But Jamaica is yet to realise the benefits of such plans.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Karl Samuda, in his address to executives at the presentation of the NES noted that Jamaica must hold accountable, not only the Government, but also the private sector in this issue of national development and global competitiveness.

“The government is the easiest target to identify, we are easily measured. What is not so easily measured is the effective contribution of the private sector,” he said. “We now need to explore all avenues, lock all escape routes, place on the private sector measurements that can be identified and be accountable for output so that we have a genuine partnership.”

“Government will say we will give you this incentive, we will facilitate you in this way. Now after all of this facilitation, where is the measurement? Surely the measurement can’t reside only in the national figures,” Samuda said.

The minister argued for greater emphasis to be placed on training and education in order to attract investments and develop a truly global workforce.

“We must train our people at all levels and that is direct collaboration between the government and private sector and yes, it will include an expenditure on the private sector as well as the government. It must be a shared responsibility,” he said.

Patricia Francis, executive director of the International Trade Centre out of Geneva, Switzerland, pointed to the fundamental problems affecting Jamaica’s competitiveness.

“Business confidence is low and Jamaica is facing severe challenges associated with growing debt and deteriorating balance of payments problems,” she said. “These problems are compounded by the impact of crime and corruption, which are a tax on business and an impediment to human development.”

And while high levels of crime continue unabated, public perception of corruption in Jamaica continues to rise.

Jamaica is currently ranked 99 of 180 countries and territories, down three places from 96 in 2008, on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The majority of the 180 countries included in the 2009 index scored below five on a scale of zero to 10, with 10 being the lowest level of perceived corruption.

Jamaica scored three on the scale.

“At a time when massive stimulus packages, fast track disbursements of public funds and attempts to secure peace are being implemented around the world, it is essential to identify where corruption blocks good governance and accountability, in order to break its corrosive cycle,” Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International (TI), said about the recent rankings. “When essential institutions are weak or non-existent, corruption spirals out of control and the plundering of public resources feeds insecurity and impunity. Corruption also makes normal a seeping loss of trust in the very institutions and nascent governments charged with ensuring survival and stability.”

The country fared no better on the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), a result of a decline in overall world demand for exports, which, for Jamaica, tourism is a major part.

Jamaica declined from 57 to 60 between 2008 and 2009 and scored 4.1 out of seven, with seven being the most competitive.

The TTCI measures the different regulatory and business-related issues that have been identified as levers for improving travel and tourism competitiveness in countries around the world. The most critical areas identified for improvement within Jamaica tourism sector by the TTCI include, human resources, environmental sustainability, natural resources and health and hygiene.

Jamaica’s overall ranking on the 2009 Global Information Technology Index (GITI) was 86 out of 134 countries, with a score of 53 for network readiness a decline from 46 last year and 45 in 2007. The GITI was once the only list on which Jamaica appeared in the top 50.

On the upside, the country improved its performance on the Human Development Index, a United Nations Development Programme listing that aims to put people at the centre of development. Jamaica is ranked at 100, up from 101 in 2008, a score which places the country in the category of medium human development.