A ranking of the prestigious Swiss business school International Institute for Management Development (World Competitiveness Yearbook) has placed Bulgaria among the least competitive countries in the world.

According to the ranking, reported by Bulgaria's bTV, the country is 56th among 59 studied States, which is a collapse down by 20 positions in the last four years.

Only Croatia, Argentina and Venezuela are behind Bulgaria.

Kamen Kolev, Vice Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, BIA, is quoted in saying that a drastic decrease of foreign investments has been registered in the country, particularly in the production sector and innovations. He has stressed that low taxes are not enough to boost the economy.

The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) defines national economic competitiveness as "the ability of a nation to create and maintain an environment that sustains more value creation for its enterprises and more prosperity for its people."

According to IMD, "some nations support competitiveness more than others by creating an environment that facilitates the competitiveness of enterprises and encourages long-term sustainability." The IMD ranks and analyzes these environments.

IMD's methodology for its World Competitiveness Yearbook divides the national environment into four main factors, each with five sub-factors: Economic Performance (domestic economy, international trade, international investment, employment, prices); Government Efficiency (public finance, fiscal policy, institutional framework, business legislation, societal framework); Business Efficiency (productivity, labor market, finance, management practices, attitudes and values), and Infrastructure (basic infrastructure, technological infrastructure, scientific infrastructure, health and environment, education).

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