The United States is the world's most competitive country, but others, such as Germany, are more innovative and enjoy a healthier social fabric, the World Economic Forum (WEF) reported Wednesday.
After the US, countries like Singapore, Germany, Switzerland and Japan are best placed to compete in a global economy that is being transformed by digitalization, according to the Geneva-based organization, which hosts the yearly business and politics summit in Davos.
The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Britain, Sweden and Denmark round out the top 10.
Although the US scored very high in innovation, Germany leads in this subcategory, thanks to its many patent filings and scientific publications, as well as its high-quality industrial products.
"But technology is not a silver bullet on its own. Countries must invest in people and institutions to deliver on the promise of technology,” said Saadia Zahidi, who heads the WEF's work on social and economic issues.
The WEF argued that there is no contradiction between competitiveness and social policies such as wealth distribution, welfare safety nets and education.
In addition, the report found that the top-scoring economies are not only innovative and boast efficient markets, but that they are also open when it comes to tariff barriers and labour immigration.
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