Archive for 2008-10-19
India ranks 70th on Prosperity Index
The quality of secondary education, cost of starting a business & the lack of government effectiveness are among the reasons why India ranked 70th among 104 nations on the World Prosperity Index (WPI) 2008.
"India has a relatively entrepreneurial culture. It requires government effectiveness & tackling corruption," Managing Director of Legatum Institute, that has brought out the Index, Alan McCormick told PTI.
Increase in capital & education contribute directly to the value of physical & human capital & thus, directly increase economic output. Poor governance & excessive bureaucracy impose costs on business and thus restrain growth, the report released last week said.
The Institute also ranks India at 10th place on its 'Who's Going Places' list, with China on number six.
"These countries have the best context right now within which to create wealth," McCormick said.
Both economies have recently grown faster than almost any country in the rich world. Because these two giant nations are home to more than 2 billion people, these improvements in competitiveness are bringing about a dramatic lessening of the global wealth gap & are very good news for global prosperity, the report said.
"India outstrips many South Asian nations in various aspects of wealth creation. It ranks stronger with reference to other Asian countries in terms of avoiding dependence on commodity exports & foreign aid," McCormick said.
The Index, which calculates a country's prosperity on the basis of 'Economic Competitiveness' & 'Comparative Liveability', has been prepared by assessing drivers of prosperity based on 22 key indicators and 44 sub-indicators.
Australia tops the overall Index, Austria has top scores in education, & in health & Finland boasts excellent governance, the report said.
All the top 29 countries in the overall Prosperity Index score half a standard deviation or more above the global mean on good governance, the report said.
India has an exceptionally weak score in commercializing new ideas via entrepreneurship, a factor which the Index identifies as a major contributor to growth. India's score in terms of entrepreneurship is surprisingly better than Austria at 2 & Canada at 14. It, however, is doing a lot in terms of commercializing innovation.
"One of the measures we use to analyze innovation is the number of patents registered by a country with the World Intellectual Organization.
When a country is issuing lots of patents it indicates that there is a lot of research & development taking place within the country & importantly, it is being commercialized. India has increased its patents rapidly over the last few years, most notably in the pharmaceutical sector," McCormick said.
Singapore & Hong Kong have a remarkably high score in commercializing new ideas via economic openness.
Neighboring Sri Lanka, which ranks 60 on the Index, beats India at it by scoring high on commercializing new ideas via education & entrepreneurship & building social support through family & community life.
Australia ranks higher in terms of investing productively via good governance, commercializing new ideas via better education & building social support through community life, in all of which India scores low.
Germany at Number 4, Kuwait at 30, Russia at 57, Mongolia at 77 score comparatively higher than India in terms of commercializing new ideas via education.
This is the 2nd year in succession that the Institute has come up with the Prosperity Index. In 2007, only 50 countries were analyzed as compared to 104 this year.
"India was featured in last year's Index & was ranked 46th of 50 countries analyzed. Although comparisons between 2007 & 2008 rankings are nor valid due to changes in methodology of survey, the drivers & restrainers of India's prosperity are quite similar to last year," Legatum Corporate Communications Hamish Banks said.
"They include significant weaknesses in economic openness, entrepreneurship & higher standards of education; health issues remain a problem, but religious belief is a strength," Banks said.
Almost all of the countries that ranked lower than India last year - Pakistan, Zimbabwe & Bangladesh - are again ranked lower in 2008 with the exception of Egypt, which is now ranked very slightly higher than India, at 67, he said.
On a plot of 'competitiveness' & 'liveability', India comes in the bottom left quadrant, neither liveable nor competitive as opposed to Australia, Japan & Singapore that are both competitive & liveable, Russia & Ukraine that are more competitive than liveable & Saudi Arabia & Venezeula that are more liveable than competitive.
5 Reasons Couples Fight & Break-up
Nearly everyone has experienced a relationship breakup or divorce & it can be one of the most painful periods in your life as you try to heal your broken heart. What we have discovered in our relationship coaching practice, many breakups don't have to happen.
So, if breakups don't have to occur, what cases them & how can you prevent them?
Here are four ideas to help you better understand why breakups happen & what you can do to prevent them in your relationship.
1. Old Fears Surface.
It's to be expected that being in an intimate relationship will inevitable bring up fears & challenges from the past. These might include fearing not being good enough, attractive enough, wealthy enough or even feelings of abandonment. If fears are not expected, looked at & healed, they interfere in some way or another with the health of every relationship. Take some time to notice when the fears surface, be loving with yourself but look inward instead of outward blaming your partner for what clearly is your issue.
Ask yourself if your fears are "true" or are you just making "stories" up in your head. If you are creating those "stories" & there's no basis of truth to them, then change your thinking. It's not always easy to do & it takes moment by moment monitoring of your thoughts. If you need help & support to make the changes you want in your life, be courageous enough to get it.
You may not have healed your broken heart from past relationships that ended & you find it very difficult to trust your current partner or open your heart completely to him or her. We suggest that you stop living from the hurt of those past relationships & bring yourself into the present moment, without continuing the "stories" of the past. Commit to starting over, allowing your fears to be there but reminding yourself that this is a new day.
2. Not Feeling Understood, Valued, Loved & Appreciated.
Everyone wants to feel understood, valued, loved & appreciated & when we're not, we tend to either withdraw or attack the other person for not meeting our needs. If you want to be appreciated, start appreciating the other people in your life. Sounds simplistic but it really works!
If you are not feeling loved, start being open to seeing & feeling love & appreciation that people are giving you that you may not be aware of in your daily life. It may be that someone allows you to go ahead of them in traffic or tells you to go ahead in a grocery line. Send some appreciation back to them & to everyone around you & watch love snowball in your life.
3. Not Making their Relationship a Priority.
Many couples take each other for granted & don't give their relationship the attention it needs most of the time. The lack of closeness & connection can be overwhelming & can cause great loneliness. Make your relationship a priority in your life. Set aside time everyday to connect with your partner.
We believe that sex happens long before the bedroom. It starts all day long when you have thoughts about your partner. Are these thoughts positive or negative? It continues when you come together. Are you happy to see each other & express love & appreciation or do you great each other with a laundry list of chores, things to be done or grievances?
These are just a couple of ways we make our relationship a priority. Try them in yours!
4. One or Both People are Made to Feel They are "Wrong."
One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they make each other wrong. As soon as critical words are said, defenses & walls go up & suddenly that person who you love & they love you becomes an "enemy."
Before you jump into blaming & judging your partner, stop & take a moment to breathe. Ask yourself if making your partner wrong will drive you further apart or move you closer toward healing. Open your heart to understanding the dynamics of what's going on between the two of you. Understand the full story before you start making someone wrong. So often we assume to know what is in someone's heart & we really don't. Take the time to find out!
5. Not healing your heart after a previous relationship break-up
Many people go from relationship to relationship without truly healing their hearts. They never discover what went wrong in their previous relationship & what they could have done differently. They keep repeating the same mistakes over & over again & always expect a different outcome.
