1. Competitiveness of Central Asia Findings from the Central Asian Competitiveness Outlook Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz Director, Senior Economist Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance World Economic Forum Astana Economic Forum, Astana, 4 May 2011

2. Center For Global Competitiveness and Performance  Launched in 1979 covering 16 countries  Most recently covering 139 countries  Flagship product: The Global Competitiveness Report Other special topic and regional reports:  The Global Enabling Trade Report 2010-2011  The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011  The Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011 (to be released in April 2011)  The Africa Competitiveness Report 2011 (to be released in May 2011)  The Russia Competitiveness Report (to be released in June 2011)  The Indonesia Competitiveness Review 2011 (to be released June 2011)

3. Global Competitiveness Report Key Features  Enables for cross country comparison of 139 economies  Produced in collaboration with leading academics and research institutes worldwide  Includes comprehensive dataset on competitiveness. A) The Executive Opinion Survey: B) Other data available from international sources and data partners:  Data sources are:  Qualitative data capturing the perspectives of business leaders around the world  Respondents ccompare their national operating environment with international standards on a wide range of dimensions.  Quantitative measures comparable across countries. Some of the international sources used are the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, UNESCO, ITU.

4. What we try to measure: Different growth paths

5. Definition of competitiveness How we define competitiveness: “The set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country” The level of productivity, in turn, sets the sustainable level of prosperity that can be earned by an economy.

6. The Global Competitiveness Index The 12 pillars of competitiveness

7. SEE countries are spread across almost the entire ranking

8. Mixed record over the past five years…

9. On average, CA competitiveness lags behind the EU with institutions, infrastructure and education as particular challenges…

10. The performance of most countries in the region is remarkably similar across all the dimensions

11. Biggest challenge: reform of public and private institutions

12. Infrastructure for transport and electricity is underdeveloped compared to other transition economies

13. Participation in education is high, but quality is low and ill adapted to the needs of business

14. Goods markets are not efficient mainly due to a high extent of market dominance

15. Financial markets have suffered during the financial crisis, and access to finance remains a major bottleneck

16. Key messages Countries show very similar competitiveness performance Efficient labour markets are key advantages, in some countries macroeconomic stability is high Disadvantages are related to infrastructure, institutions, quality of education, market efficiency, and financial markets Addressing challenges related to institutions is key and will require above all strong political will, but could impact on investment and growth quickly.