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Three ways?Venezuela?can develop a more competitive economy??Venezuela should generate?a new,?unique model?-?an industrial policy?-?to recover quickly in?a world that is in complete disorder?economically, says Professor Arturo Bris.??Venezuela can draw on learnings from how other economies have boosted their competitiveness, said Bris, Director of the?World Competitiveness Center?and a financial expert.??His talk came just one month after the center released its?2020 Competitiveness?rankings. Venezuela has come bottom of this list since 2003; in this year’s results it was 63rd?out of 63 countries.??Speaking to 70 webinar participants, most of whom come?from Venezuela’s private sector,Professor Bris contextualized his advice for Venezuela by describing a world that is witnessing the end of globalization as we know it, “making differences between countries much more important”.??International regulation, trade and oil prices will fade into the background as countries seek to identify their own added value — be it oils in Thailand or cars in South Korea.??He presented?various?signposts for the country?during the event?organized by?CONAPRI, a Venezuelan organization that diffuses business opportunities in?across the country?with a wide cross-section of industries represented?by?members?from?Ron Santa Teresa?to?Shell Venezuela.??Professor Bris?offered three steps the country should take now in order?to become more competitive.??1)?Seek inspiration in other countries??Venezuela?can?study the ways?other economies have?boosted their competitiveness, said Professor Bris.??“Every?country makes its own salad. The ingredients may be the same, or very similar,?but the way they are?mixed up?will be?different,?meaning?Venezuela can learn?from?other?countries?but its?competitivity?model?must be a unique recipe.??“That?Venezuela?might seek?to?become the Switzerland of Latin America would be absolutely absurd.?It?needs to become the Venezuela of Latin America, and of the world.”??Listeners were keen to hear more about?the type of?political system?that is?most conducive to starting a productive chain of events in?an?economy.???Within the context of Venezuela's current situation, Professor Bris?answered by?pointing?to other authoritarian governments?saying?that?benevolent?dictators (authoritarian regimes that favor inclusion)?have the greatest success in this regard?“as they have?the ability to make decisions”.??By contrast, “non-benevolent dictators who use non-inclusive institutions, such as the army, are not helping promote competitiveness?in their countries."??“Competitive countries?might?be monarchies, republics, democracies or?dictatorships,?but?the ones that?have increased?their?competitiveness in recent years are actually non-democratic, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, China and the United?Arab?Emirates,”?he said.???2)?Invest now in?infrastructure??If competitiveness can be loosely summed up as government competency and good handling of the economy, then infrastructure, both physical and otherwise,?plays a key role.??The?tough?news is that Venezuela needs to make huge advances?across the board —?it?scrapes the barrel?in?education, health and?infrastructure?—?the good news is that?“Venezuela’s private sector is relatively easy to govern”.???One?way?the private sector?can contribute is?by leading in?innovation; Professor Bris said that it is on this that?“business success hinges. It’s become?a real?must.”??He gave the example of?Palestine, where?there is a strong focus on?innovation?even?alongside austerity measures. Professor Bris?explained, “Palestine, Ukraine and Russia’s innovation examples are more impressive in my mind that?those in Silicon Valley. And innovation also helps the political evolution of a country.”??But it’s not only about the private sector. “In order for businesses operating in countries with limited institutional frameworks?to get the most?from public policies, it’s key to build bridges with the public sector,” Professor Bris said.??“Switzerland bet on its private sector. The political system responded and supported it. The US and Germany had similar experiences. However, in other countries it’s the public sector that drives the change.”??Indeed, great strides come from social demand. In the IMD ranking, there is a strong correlation between overall ranking position and talent rating. Talent depends on education;?Singapore and Finland are examples of countries that have improved their competitiveness in tandem with building excellent education systems from the ground up, he said.???3)?Embrace the Latin American region as a?hub??Venezuela should collaborate with?the wider Latin American economy,?in particular?Paraguay, Colombia and Brazil.??Smaller economies like Switzerland and Hong Kong would not have leapt up the competitiveness ranks?if they had not been collaborating with the EU and China, respectively, he said.??“Venezuela, just like?the?US,?cannot?be compared?with?these smaller successful economies alone because?there are?inefficiencies in large countries, and social consensus is hard to achieve,” said Professor Bris.??Trading in the region allows both parties to grow.?It’s not a case of “I get better and you get worse”.??But Latin America doesn’t naturally lend itself to being an economic zone; this?still needs to be built.??One?possible wildcard: the blockchain?“equalizer”??A final?piece?of advice?came from the Blockchain world, triggered by one participant asking about?cryptocurrencies’ ability to drive competitiveness among countries.?Professor Bris said that banks in China, Norway and the UK were already launching them. The sooner Venezuela could jump on this bandwagon,?the better, he said.??“It’s a great equalizer for economies; it helps poorer countries develop. You don’t have to be a rich country to have favorable regulation for this – look at Estonia, Ukraine, Oman and?Kazakhstan.”??First and foremost, however,?Venezuela should?be?asking: what are the?most?positive things about our economy?and how?could?these?make us competitive,?and generate quality of life?in the long run???Indeed, there?are?no miracles to?competitiveness?and it?will?take time?—?at least a generation?—?for Venezuela?to?do the work and see it reflected in the rankings.??The full webinar can be viewed in Spanish here.Further reading:?Professor Bris recommends?Joe?Studwell’s?“How Asia Works”?—?an exploration of?factors?dictating?why?some?countries?boom whilst others languish that also?highlights?the importance of governments?forcing?companies to compete on?a?global scale.? ................
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