How would you assess the soundness of banks in a country after the worst financial crisis in decades? Out of 139 countries, Canada is at number 1 with the healthiest banks and at 139, Ireland is last with the highest risk of bank insolvency. The United States is at a low 111, just one above Germany and the United Kingdom is at 133 between Chad, Burundi and Zimbabwe. Zambia is at number 56, just above Italy. - World Economic Forum Global Competitive Report 2010-2011.
How does Zambia compete globally in other key areas?
Sunga, thanks for sharing this but can you interprete the meaning of all this data to a layman like me in the world of economics. what are the benefits for all this indices to an individual like me?
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ReplyDeleteJesse, the World Economic Forum (WEF) releases yearly reports which contain cross country performance data and analysis. The list of performance data is very comprehensive and covers everything from how stable a country’s banks are to literacy levels. It’s like a class pass-card showing a student’s Physics or English Literature grades vs. his/her class mates. These grades/results can help parents, teachers and the student know what to do next (i.e. areas of weakness, improvement and so on).
ReplyDeleteHow can we really tell if Zambia’s economy (or health, education and so on) is improving? One way is to look and compare Zambia’s current performance data to: (1) its past data; (2) data from similar countries at the same level of development; (3) data from other countries in Sub Saharan Africa and (4) global data. Therefore, WEF reports can help us assess and understand Zambia’s overall performance and competitive position in the world.
The few numbers I have uploaded show how Zambia compares with others in the world. Not all categories in the full report are vital but others such as infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, (which help assess government performance), health, education, corruption are very important. After all, based on our survey, these are some of the biggest issues Zambia faces. According to the report, Zambia's financial reform results are very encouraging but the health and education systems are in need of alot of work.
Please watch this video on why WEF reports are important.
http://www.weforum.org/videos/global-competitiveness-report-2010-2011?fo=1.
Thanks....
ReplyDeleteI think we're are doing pretty well in the banking sector but still find it hard to offer an enabling environment for a thriving private sector. The biggest beneficiary of any deliberate government policy has been the mining sector with firms benefiting from generous tax incentives. Our ranking in global competitiveness, basic requirements and efficiency enhancers could be a lot better. Some of the line items take time to improve but things like institutions and the macroeconomic environment can be improved almost overnight if we have the political will.
ReplyDeleteThis country is taking steps in the right direction (at least as authenticated by our B+ rating). In addition, the Banking and Financial Services Act in Zambia (1995) and subsequent amendments has created a very robust financial system here that has seen zero bank failures in over a decade.
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