Latin America, Caribbean stagnating in competitiveness performance

In spite of the resilience Latin America and the Caribbean have shown with an expected growth that will surpass that of other regions in the world in 2013 and 2014, most countries are stagnating in their competitiveness performance, according to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) "Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014." In addition, the region continues to suffer from low levels of productivity and slow productivity growth rates. In 2012, Latin America and the Caribbean grew by 3%, a slower pace than in previous years. The region is expected to grow 3% in 2013 and 3.4% in 2014 as a result of a recovery in several export markets and robust internal demand based on fairly good access to financing. Chile remained the most competitive economy in Latin America, though it fell one position from last year to 34th, ahead of Panama (40th), Costa Rica (54th) and Mexico (55th), which all remain relatively stable. The country owes this privileged position to its traditional strengths, including a strong institutional setup with low levels of corruption and solid macroeconomic stability. However, certain stagnation in Chile's competitiveness model suggests the need to tap into new sources of productivity gains and move toward higher-value-added activities. In terms of financial market development, Panama led the region in the 16th place, followed by Puerto Rico (18th), Chile (20th) and Peru (40th). On the other hand, Haiti lagged behind ranking 142nd, while Venezuela and Argentina ranked 135th and 133rd.