NZ's competitiveness slips

Brain drain and the way Kiwis recruit staff are among the anchors dragging the country down in the World Economic Forum's annual global competitiveness report.

New Zealand's ranking has slipped three places from 20th last year to 23rd.

The Index ranks countries according to their ability to compete internationally and uses factors such as markets, institutions, infrastructure and human resources.

Phil O'Reilly, chief executive of Business New Zealand - a partner in the international survey-  says it helps focus business and policy makers on areas for improvement.

''New Zealand continues to do well in areas such as freedom from corruption, ease of setting up a business, soundness of banks, quality of primary and secondary education, and a low-cost burden for things like customs,'' he says.

''But we continue to rate poorly for our brain drain (86th), rigid hiring and firing practices (83rd), high interest rates (79th) and lack of local competition (64th).''

Also of concern were low rankings in areas relating to innovation, he said, including government procurement of advanced technology (73rd) and availability of scientists and engineers (67th).

O'Reilly said the 23rd placing compared with Australia at 16th and shows how much of a challenge it would be to close the trans-Tasman gap.

The ranking drop has seen Qatar, Luxembourg and Saudi Arabia move up.

Switzerland retains the number one ranking.  The other countries making up the top 10 places in the Index are: Sweden, Singapore, the US, Germany, Japan, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Canada.

- BusinessDesk