Competition

I have recently seen the executive summary of the World Competitiveness Yearbook. (This is definitely worth a look.) The USA is well out in front and shows no sign of weakening. The core of this competitiveness is its ability to grow and nurture innovation - to take advantage of new technologies. This is accompanied by a lack of inflation, itself created by a strong deregulation policy and intense competition in the domestic market. The UK is in 15th position (down from 12th) and hardly rates a comment - the performance is neither exceptionally good or bad. Good old-fashioned British muddling through.