Dynamic businesses would be wrong to disregard slower growing developed economies in favour of faster growing emerging markets according to the Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index (GDI). The new index – developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to rank 50 economies on 22 indicators of dynamism – suggests that business growth fundamentals remain strong in many developed economies even as they struggle with mountains of debt. The Nordic region is the most dynamic in the world according to the GDI, scoring 66.1 overall, followed by North America (62.9) and the G7 (59.6). This compares to Eastern Europe (55.7), the Growth – 8 economies (55.0), Latin America (53.8) and the Middle East and Africa (51.0). However, whilst Western Europe (59.2) – where many economies are battling a competitiveness problem – sits above the global average (57.3), it is beaten into fifth place by Asia Pacific (59.3). Ed Nusbaum, CEO of Grant Thornton International said: “At first glance the results may seem counterintuitive, as we associate dynamism with the pace of economic growth. However, the GDI is far more than just another measure of growth. By considering key fundamentals, such as the legal and political risks associated with operating in a given economy, the index gives a much truer reflection of how suitable an environment it offers for dynamic businesses. “It is perhaps unsurprising therefore to see Singapore, and two Nordic nations – Finland and Sweden – occupy the top three places in the overall ranking. All are open and trade-orientated, have well developed legal frameworks in place and invest heavily in R&D. All things dynamic businesses want to see.” The GDI ranking of each economy and region across the five areas identified as holding the key drivers to an economy’s dynamism – business operating environment, science and technology, labour and human capital, economics and growth and the financing environment – also provides some interesting comparisons between the relative strengths of mature and developing economies. Ed Nusbaum continued: “The importance of dynamism in an economy cannot be understated. I saw Robert Zoellick comment the other day that the US will lose its identity on the global stage if it loses its economic dynamism. I agree with him and urge countries around the world to look at how they can boost the dynamism of their economies to boost global growth. “These results clearly show above all that there are many different paths to, and aspects of, dynamism. Different economies offer different environments that can help, or hinder, business growth. But the greatest takeaway for me is certainly that businesses should not give up on the developed economies just yet.”

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