Necessary Ingredients for National Competitiveness

National governments have an undeniable effect on the global competitiveness of the industries that take root in their countries. In the absence of a predictably stable legislative environment, industry cannot make the long-term gambles necessary to grow the economy.

Infrastructure investments of both the traditional and technological varieties will need to either be undertaken by the government itself or within a larger understanding of non-interference from the government in order to ensure that the underlying structure of the national economy is strong enough to support economic growth.

Without a financial environment that promotes private savings and domestic investment, no country's citizens will plow their resources back into the country. They will either spend everything they earn on short-lived consumer goods or send their resources abroad. While there is nothing wrong with international capital flows per se, any country that routinely sends its resources abroad is making a firm bet that someone else's economy is a better place to do business.

Education, particularly secondary and tertiary education, as well as lifelong training, is needed to provide businesses with a labor force that can take full advantage of technological progress.

Ultimately, each nation's citizens have a unique value system that each nation will seek to preserve. Paying attention to the fragile balance between economies of proximity and the wider globe in order to ensure wealth creation is absolutely critical.