Ireland has fallen seven places in an annual survey of competitiveness carried out by the World Economic Forum, faring particularly badly in the technology part of the report.
Its 2003 Global Competitiveness Survey puts Ireland in 30th place, down from 23rd last year. Finland was again ranked the most competitive country in the world, edging out the US due to a healthy Finnish economy, efficient public institutions and technology-driven industry.
China fell nine places to 44th because of 'a remarkable deterioration in the perceived quality of public institutions', the survey said. West European countries were largely stable apart from Ireland and Italy, which both dropped.
Ireland was 38th in the technology index, but was ranked 22nd in the marcroeconomic environment list and 25th for public institutions.
A breakdown of the figures showed that 'restrictive labour regulations' and tax rates were seen as the most problematic areas facing business.
Areas where Ireland performed particularly well included research collaboration between universities and industry, where the country was ranked 11th; ease of access to loans (4th); soundness of banks (6th); and credit rating (15th).
On the down side, Ireland ranked 97th for the quality of competition among internet service providers, 63rd for inflation, and 57th for public trust in politicians. Other areas where Ireland scored badly included flexibility of wage determination (96th); agricultural policy costs (89th); railway infrastructure (64th); and political consequences of legal political donations (78th).
