Competitive Identity and Development

Abstract

Not many countries are lucky enough to be economically wealthy, yet virtually all are rich in intangible assets: almost every country on Earth possesses a wide variety of cultural, historical, geographical, human and intellectual capital. But in most cases, for one reason or another, there have not been the right conditions, the ability or the motivation to translate these natural assets into consistent economic performance. However, in a global economy increasingly driven by services, intellectual assets and “virtual” products, the human capital of nations is more than ever the most critical factor in their economic progress, and a lack of conventionally marketable resources is less of a bar to economic development than it has been in the past.