UNCTAD launches PCI tool to measure nations' economic performance

The PCI, accessible via a dedicated online portal that offers resources, tools, and guides, evaluates countries' ability to manufacture goods and deliver services—factors vital for international trade and participation in global production value chains.

The PCI maps the productive capabilities of 194 economies and offers a more comprehensive measure of development than traditional benchmarks such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Its multidimensional nature enables the measurement of economic inputs and potential as opposed to merely gauging outputs, UNCTAD said in a press release.

For governments, the PCI can be a valuable tool for tracking progress over time and formulating policies to address developmental gaps. It aligns with the call from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for nations to move beyond GDP, focusing on factors that truly impact people and their communities.

“No nation has ever developed without building the required productive capacities, which are key to enabling countries to achieve sustained economic growth with accelerated poverty reduction, economic diversification and job creation,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.

The inaugural PCI shows that developed economies, including Denmark, Australia, and the US, score higher, averaging a score of 70 out of 100 on the composite index. On the other hand, developing regions in Asia and Latin America generally perform better than those in Africa.

Emerging economies such as Chile, China, and Qatar are gradually converging towards the performance levels of developed countries, with average scores of 61. In contrast, African economies like Chad, Malawi, and Niger have PCI scores below 20.

However, countries such as Rwanda, Senegal, and Togo showed progress in their PCI scores between 2018 and 2022. Similarly, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, and Panama in Latin America and the Caribbean, along with Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Timor-Leste in Asia, made significant performance gains on the composite index.

Conversely, several developing countries, including Brunei Darussalam, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Namibia, Suriname, and Uganda, experienced regression on the composite index during the same period.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)