Leading economists analyze the multiple factors that drive competitiveness among nations in world markets. Competitiveness among nations is often approached as if it were a sports competition: some countries win medals, others lose out. This view of countries fighting it out in the economic arena is especially popular in business circles and among politicians. Economists, however, take a very different approach to international economic relations, arguing that international trade leads not to winners and losers but to win-win situations in which all countries profit. In this volume, leading economists take on the sometimes-derided concept of competitiveness, demonstrating the value of systematic analysis in an area too often dominated by special interest groups who use (and abuse) the concept to advance hidden agendas. The chapters range from broad theoretical views to case studies, examining the multiple factors that drive competitiveness. Contributors consider the conceptual framework underlying the World Economic Forum's approach to competitiveness; differences in per capita GDP between the United States and the European Union; an integrated approach to measuring competitiveness and comparative advantage; divergent trends in price and cost competitiveness in the euro area; methodological issues in constructing competitiveness indicators; taxation and international competitiveness; and a case study of Mexico's competitiveness in world markets in comparison to China's. Contributors Harry P. Bowen, Michele Ca' Zorzi, Jean-Philippe Cotis, Romain Duval, Christoph Fischer, Michael S. Knoll, Inmaculada Martinez-Zarzoso, Wim Moesen, Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann, Xavier Sala-i-Martin, Bernd Schnatz, Alain de Serres, Eckhard Siggel, Sebastian Vollmer

Economic and business growth is driven by the continuous re-evaluation and optimization of current policies and practices. By implementing more effective procedures, businesses can increase their levels of competitiveness. Factors Affecting Firm Competitiveness and Performance in the Modern Business World is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on the most appropriate measures and initiatives for firms to become more competitive within various sectors. Incorporating interdisciplinary perspectives through theoretical foundations and real-world case studies, this book is ideally designed for professionals, practitioners, upper-level students, policy makers, and managers interested in the optimization of business performance.

In this pathbreaking book, Michael E. Porter unravels the rules that govern competition and turns them into powerful analytical tools to help management interpret market signals and forecast the direction of industry development.

While national governments assemble vast arrays of statistical data to demonstrate a closing or widening of international competitiveness, business scholars and practitioners and economists from many countries here argue that too little attention is being paid to the often subtle but highly significant organizational and cultural characteristics that underpin production and trade in a globalized economy. They consider organizational, cross-cultural, financial, productive, and distributive issues. The 19 papers are from an international conference at the University of Cambridge at an undisclosed date. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

Now beyond its eleventh printing and translated into twelve languages, Michael Porter’s The Competitive Advantage of Nations has changed completely our conception of how prosperity is created and sustained in the modern global economy. Porter’s groundbreaking study of international competitiveness has shaped national policy in countries around the world. It has also transformed thinking and action in states, cities, companies, and even entire regions such as Central America. Based on research in ten leading trading nations, The Competitive Advantage of Nations offers the first theory of competitiveness based on the causes of the productivity with which companies compete. Porter shows how traditional comparative advantages such as natural resources and pools of labor have been superseded as sources of prosperity, and how broad macroeconomic accounts of competitiveness are insufficient. The book introduces Porter’s “diamond,” a whole new way to understand the competitive position of a nation (or other locations) in global competition that is now an integral part of international business thinking. Porter's concept of “clusters,” or groups of interconnected firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in particular locations, has become a new way for companies and governments to think about economies, assess the competitive advantage of locations, and set public policy. Even before publication of the book, Porter’s theory had guided national reassessments in New Zealand and elsewhere. His ideas and personal involvement have shaped strategy in countries as diverse as the Netherlands, Portugal, Taiwan, Costa Rica, and India, and regions such as Massachusetts, California, and the Basque country. Hundreds of cluster initiatives have flourished throughout the world. In an era of intensifying global competition, this pathbreaking book on the new wealth of nations has become the standard by which all future work must be measured.