EXAMINING THE ATTITUDES OF THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY TOWARDS THE CONCEPT OF NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS WITH A FOCUS ON THE SITUATION IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The concept of national competitiveness has been a subject of academic debate for more than seventy years. While some view it as a “dangerous obsession” (Krugman, 1994), many others consider it the most significant—typically synthetic—indicator of a country's economic condition. The lack of consensus regarding the meaning of national competitiveness is reflected in the divergent understandings of indicators used to measure competitiveness, as well as the “pillars” (i.e., key drivers of national competitiveness), ultimately resulting in differing—and at times contradictory—assessments of which countries are genuinely competitive.
The primary objective of this research was to examine the perceptions of the domestic academic community regarding the meaning of the concept of national competitiveness, as well as the position of Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of competitiveness within both the regional and global contexts.
The findings indicate that a majority of domestic academics share Porter’s (1990) view that productivity is the most accurate measure of national competitiveness, followed by the growth rate of GDP, the state of the trade balance, and the employment rate.
With regard to the key factors influencing the level of national competitiveness, most respondents identified education as the most important, followed by innovation and the free movement of capital. Interestingly, at the bottom of the list of influencing factors were meritocratic institutions, macroeconomic stability, and comprehensive healthcare coverage.
According to most respondents, the world’s most competitive economy is China, followed by five G7 countries (the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and France).
Within the regional context, Slovenia is perceived as the most competitive economy, followed—at a noticeable distance—by Croatia and Hungary. Bosnia and Herzegovina was ranked eighth out of ten observed countries, ahead only of Montenegro and North Macedonia.
Regarding measures to improve the competitiveness of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s economy, the most important were identified as increased investment in research and development, higher spending on education, and further digitalization.