FOOTNOTES
HILARY JOFFE: SA’s slow decline from the region’s first in class to underperformer is reversible
Moody’s list of upgrades demonstrates how countries that embark on economic and fiscal reforms can start to turn themselves around
SA used to get the credit for being quite a good kid in a bad neighbourhood. Now it is increasingly becoming the laggard in an improving neighbourhood. Two reports in the past couple of weeks make the point in different ways. The first, from the World Bank, shows SA plunging down the global rankings on the annual Doing Business index – not because SA has got any worse, but because others are rapidly getting better. The second, from ratings agency Moody’s, shows SA as one of a dwindling number of countries that is on negative outlook for a downgrade, at a time when the global backdrop is benign and other countries are sorting out their public finances. SA’s decline from 74th to 82nd of the 190 countries the World Bank ranks follows poor performances on several other global indices.SA has fallen 14 rungs down the ladder on the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index, on concern about governance and institutions as well as political stability. It fell one rung, to 53rd, in ...
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