1.5 HIGHER SUSTAINABILITY EQUALS HIGHER WEALTH

Th e c h i c k e n o r t h e e g g ?

Sustainable competitiveness means that current wealth levels are not in danger of being reduced or diminished through over-exploitation of resources (i.e. natural and human resources), the lack of innovation investments required to compete in the globalised markets (i.e. education), or the discrimination, marginalisation or exploitation of segments of a society.

The leading nations on the GSCI ranking are mostly highincome countries, suggesting a certain correlation between Sustainable Competitiveness score and GDP per capita, or income levels (high income = high sustainability). The same is true when visualizing average deviations of GDP per capita and the sustainable competitiveness score.

However, the correlation is superficial and refuted by too many exceptions to the rule. Resource economies (e.g. Sadia Arabia, Kuwait) are ranked significantly below their GDP ranks. This indicates that the correlation is not from GDP to sustainable competitiveness, but rather from sustainable competitiveness to income levels. In other words: higher sustainable competitiveness can be associated with higher income levels.

The presence of large natural resources allows for exploitation of the natural capital (e.g. the oil-rich countries of the Middle East). However, such wealth is highly unsustainable and the wealth generated will diminish with depletion of the resources in the absence of an adequate alternative development and fostering of all 5 pillars. The influence of sustainable competitiveness on GDP is not immediate; it is time-deferred. Policy decisions therefore have to be made in light of sustainable competitiveness to achieve desired results at a later stage.

GDP/capita and sustainable competitiveness

In other words:

Sustainability is the chicken AND the egg.