Competitiveness, economic growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries 2006-2015: A performance and correlation analysis

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance and the relationship between competitiveness, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth and human development in 20 countries of the Latin America and Caribbean region during the 2006-2015 period. The main argument to uphold here is tha...

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Authors: Reyes Ortíz, Giovanni Efraín, Useche Arévalo, Alejandro José
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2019
Country:Colombia
Institution:Universidad del Rosario
Repository:Repositorio EdocUR - U. Rosario
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:repository.urosario.edu.co:10336/23755
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1108/CR-11-2017-0085
https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/23755
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Competitiveness
Economic growth
Human development
Latin America and Caribbean
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network_acronym_str CO
network_name_str Colombia
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dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Competitiveness, economic growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries 2006-2015: A performance and correlation analysis
title Competitiveness, economic growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries 2006-2015: A performance and correlation analysis
spellingShingle Competitiveness, economic growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries 2006-2015: A performance and correlation analysis
Reyes Ortíz, Giovanni Efraín
Competitiveness
Economic growth
Human development
Latin America and Caribbean
title_short Competitiveness, economic growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries 2006-2015: A performance and correlation analysis
title_full Competitiveness, economic growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries 2006-2015: A performance and correlation analysis
title_fullStr Competitiveness, economic growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries 2006-2015: A performance and correlation analysis
title_full_unstemmed Competitiveness, economic growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries 2006-2015: A performance and correlation analysis
title_sort Competitiveness, economic growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries 2006-2015: A performance and correlation analysis
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Reyes Ortíz, Giovanni Efraín
Useche Arévalo, Alejandro José
author Reyes Ortíz, Giovanni Efraín
author_facet Reyes Ortíz, Giovanni Efraín
Useche Arévalo, Alejandro José
author_role author
author2 Useche Arévalo, Alejandro José
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Competitiveness
Economic growth
Human development
Latin America and Caribbean
topic Competitiveness
Economic growth
Human development
Latin America and Caribbean
description Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance and the relationship between competitiveness, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth and human development in 20 countries of the Latin America and Caribbean region during the 2006-2015 period. The main argument to uphold here is that – from the perspective of virtuous circle – countries with better conditions of competitiveness are those with better economic performance and with better conditions for human development. Design/methodology/approach: Time series data were organized at three levels: individual countries, groups of nations and Latin America and Caribbean as a whole. Indicators used were: index of competitiveness, rates of change in real GDP and Human Development Index. Cluster analysis tests were performed: data ranges were determined and quintiles were established. Countries were ranked in five categories and comparative position matrices were determined for each variable. Linear correlations between indexes were calculated. Linear correlation coefficients were determined in terms of groups of countries and considering Latin America and Caribbean as a whole. Findings: Findings revealed that decreasing conditions in competitiveness and economic growth indicators are the representative situation since 2009. The most competitive country in the region is Chile, and the weakest is Venezuela. Nevertheless, all Latin American and Caribbean countries analyzed seem to have made progress in terms of human, economic and social development. Regarding correlations, Dominican Republic showed an inverse relationship between competitiveness and economic growth, while Jamaica and Venezuela showed inverse relationships between competitiveness and human development. At the individual country level, no statistically significant relationship between economic growth and human development was detected. Research limitations/implications: Findings highlight the necessity of future research that result in a deeper understanding of the transmission mechanisms between economic and social performance in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Particular reasons at the micro level that explain improvements or deteriorations in competitiveness and human development must also be analyzed. Based on the degrees of freedom, time series could have included more years, but a lack of information was found for some countries. It would also be necessary to observe each particular case considering the type of economy, production characteristics and export/import composition. Practical implications: Results complement the existing literature by exploring competitiveness and its relationship with economic and social variables in developing countries. The authors also believe that this paper is relevant for macroeconomic and social policy debates involving competitiveness and human well-being in this region of the world. Originality/value: This paper supports an important argument: human well-being and national development must be the ultimate goal of competitiveness. Traditional literature focuses on levels and determinants of competitiveness in developed countries, but it usually does not take into account social and human aspects of the process in developing countries. Little attention has been paid to analyze the relationship between competitiveness and socioeconomic variables in developing countries. Methods and findings of this paper complement the existing literature by studying the relationships among competitiveness, real GDP growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries, using correlation analysis. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited.
publishDate 2019
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2019
2020-05-26T00:05:06Z
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.1108/CR-11-2017-0085
20513143
10595422
https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/23755
url https://doi.org/10.1108/CR-11-2017-0085
https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/23755
identifier_str_mv 20513143
10595422
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
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dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
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dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositorio EdocUR - U. Rosario
instname:Universidad del Rosario
instacron:Universidad del Rosario
instname_str Universidad del Rosario
instacron_str Universidad del Rosario
institution Universidad del Rosario
reponame_str Repositorio EdocUR - U. Rosario
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spelling Competitiveness, economic growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries 2006-2015: A performance and correlation analysisReyes Ortíz, Giovanni EfraínUseche Arévalo, Alejandro JoséCompetitivenessEconomic growthHuman developmentLatin America and CaribbeanPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance and the relationship between competitiveness, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth and human development in 20 countries of the Latin America and Caribbean region during the 2006-2015 period. The main argument to uphold here is that – from the perspective of virtuous circle – countries with better conditions of competitiveness are those with better economic performance and with better conditions for human development. Design/methodology/approach: Time series data were organized at three levels: individual countries, groups of nations and Latin America and Caribbean as a whole. Indicators used were: index of competitiveness, rates of change in real GDP and Human Development Index. Cluster analysis tests were performed: data ranges were determined and quintiles were established. Countries were ranked in five categories and comparative position matrices were determined for each variable. Linear correlations between indexes were calculated. Linear correlation coefficients were determined in terms of groups of countries and considering Latin America and Caribbean as a whole. Findings: Findings revealed that decreasing conditions in competitiveness and economic growth indicators are the representative situation since 2009. The most competitive country in the region is Chile, and the weakest is Venezuela. Nevertheless, all Latin American and Caribbean countries analyzed seem to have made progress in terms of human, economic and social development. Regarding correlations, Dominican Republic showed an inverse relationship between competitiveness and economic growth, while Jamaica and Venezuela showed inverse relationships between competitiveness and human development. At the individual country level, no statistically significant relationship between economic growth and human development was detected. Research limitations/implications: Findings highlight the necessity of future research that result in a deeper understanding of the transmission mechanisms between economic and social performance in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Particular reasons at the micro level that explain improvements or deteriorations in competitiveness and human development must also be analyzed. Based on the degrees of freedom, time series could have included more years, but a lack of information was found for some countries. It would also be necessary to observe each particular case considering the type of economy, production characteristics and export/import composition. Practical implications: Results complement the existing literature by exploring competitiveness and its relationship with economic and social variables in developing countries. The authors also believe that this paper is relevant for macroeconomic and social policy debates involving competitiveness and human well-being in this region of the world. Originality/value: This paper supports an important argument: human well-being and national development must be the ultimate goal of competitiveness. Traditional literature focuses on levels and determinants of competitiveness in developed countries, but it usually does not take into account social and human aspects of the process in developing countries. Little attention has been paid to analyze the relationship between competitiveness and socioeconomic variables in developing countries. Methods and findings of this paper complement the existing literature by studying the relationships among competitiveness, real GDP growth and human development in Latin American and Caribbean countries, using correlation analysis. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited.Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.20192020-05-26T00:05:06Zinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://doi.org/10.1108/CR-11-2017-00852051314310595422https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/23755reponame:Repositorio EdocUR - U. Rosarioinstname:Universidad del Rosarioinstacron:Universidad del Rosarioenghttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85063773434&doi=10.1108%2fCR-11-2017-0085&partnerID=40&md5=7961473848a98349a6e0eaf40a53dca4info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess2022-05-02T07:37:17Z
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