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Entrepreneurship Development for Competitive Small and Medium Enterprises
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In the new millennium, liberalization of trade borders has accelerated the flow of goods and
services in the global markets; technological advancement and scientific development have had a
multiplier effect on the opportunities and choices available to consumers, thus increasing competition
and putting pressure on the performance of the individual firms and businesses within
economies. Undoubtedly, this has led to the need to enhance productivity at the firm level,
which is the driving force behind rate of return on investment—and which, in turn, determines
the aggregate growth rates of an economy. These challenges have sequentially spurred governments
to focus on factors influencing national competitiveness.
National competitiveness is based on numerous and diverse factors. There is a great deal of
empirical evidence stressing the importance of a sound macroeconomic environment for growth.
However, macroeconomic stability alone is not sufficient to increase productivity. Economists
today believe that factors like the institutional environment within which economic actors operate,
the protection of property rights, the quality of the judicial system, corruption within the system,
and the political processes are equally important. Further, factors influencing productivity
levels, such as education and training, have emerged as key drivers of competitiveness. Yet these
factors work influence different economies in different ways, primarily due to the stage of economic
development, and these factors also evolve over time, given the rapid pace of technological
development affecting productivity growth. Hence, in the year 2006, the criteria for the
Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) were revised to include critical factors that drive productivity
and competitiveness: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomy, health and primary education,
higher education and training, market efficiency, technological readiness, business sophistication,
and innovation
92-833-7061-9
NONE
Management
English
2007
1-343
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