世界競争力報告、米国が２位転落　シンガポール首位に

【ジュネーブＡＦＰ＝時事】世界経済フォーラム（WEF）は9日までに2019年版の「世界競争力報告」を発表し、シンガポールが1位となった。昨年首位だった米国は2位に後退し、WEFはその理由としてドナルド・トランプ米大統領が引き起こした貿易戦争を挙げている。（写真は資料写真）
　ＷＥＦは各国の実業家や政治家が集まる年次総会「ダボス会議」の主催団体で、１９７９年以降、生産性および長期成長の面で各国・各地域を評価した世界競争力報告を毎年発表している。
　報告書においてＷＥＦは米国を「今もってイノベーション大国である」とした一方、問題の兆候も現れていると指摘。
　報告書は経済データのほか、行政調査のデータも参考にしている。ＷＥＦのサーディア・ザヒディ氏によると、米国の健康寿命は今や中国より短く、競争力以外でも順位を落としている。
　世界保健機関（ＷＨＯ）が昨年発表した統計によると、誕生時に見込まれる健康寿命は中国が６８．７年、米国が６８．５年だった。
　報告書では競争力をインフラ、健康、労働市場、金融システム、公的機関の質、経済の開放度などの指標を０から１００までの数値で評価。シンガポールは８４．８点で首位となり、米国は２０１８年の８５．６点から８３．７点に下がったが、これについてＷＥＦは米中の関税合戦によって起きた貿易転換によるものと指摘している。
　香港は８３．１点と前年より四つ順位を上げたが、ＷＥＦは報告書に用いられたデータは、民主派の抗議デモが金融ハブである香港を揺さぶる前のものであると説明している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/10/11-08:40）

The United States fell to second place behind Singapore in the World Economic Forum's flagship Global Competitiveness Report, with the slippage linked in part to President Donald Trump's trade wars.
The Forum, organisers of the glitzy annual gathering of business and political elite in Davos, have released an annual competitiveness report since 1979 that assesses which economies are well placed to see productivity and long-term growth.
While the report noted that the US remains an innovation powerhouse and the world's second most competitive economy, some trouble signs have emerged, the Forum said.
There are no two ways (about) it. It is important to ensure the countries are being open to trade, said Saadia Zahidi, a Forum managing director, when asked to comment on the impact of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
She noted the lack of hard data on the impact of US tariffs imposed on several of its main economic partners, as the set of products impacted remains limited compared to overall trade.
But, she said, the sentiment surrounding investing in the US has been going down, she told reporters in Geneva.
That will end up impacting long-term investment; that will end up impacting how decision makers are thinking; that will end up impacting the view of non-American business leaders (of) the United States. So it does matter in the long-term, she added.
The Forum's competitiveness report relies in part of executive surveys, in addition to hard economic data.
Zahidi said that the US had also fallen in the rankings because healthy life expectancy in the country was now lower than in China.
In data published last year, the World Health Organization said that a newborn in China could expect 68.7 years of healthy living, compared to 68.5 for American newborns.
- Singapore surge -
The report measures competitiveness on a scale of zero to 100 based on factors that include infrastructure, health, the labour market, the financial system, quality of public institutions and economic openness.
Singapore scored 84.8 out of 100, but the Forum noted that the country had benefited from trade diversion through its ports triggered by the tariff battles between the world's top economies.
At 83.7 the US slipped from a score of 85.6 in 2018.
Hong Kong rose four spots to claim third place with a score of 83.1, but the Forum said the data used in the report was collected before waves of pro-democracy protests began shaking the financial hub.
The Netherlands finished fourth -- up two slots from last year -- while Switzerland came in fifth place.