Canada’s economic “dynamism” merely moderate: study

TORONTO—Canada placed 18 out of fifty countries ranked for strength of each economy as a place for dynamic businesses to flourish, according to new research released today by Grant Thornton International Ltd.

The Global Dynamism Index, created in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit, identifies five  elements of an economy’s dynamism: business operating environment, science and technology, labour and human capital, economics and growth and the financing environment. Within these five groups, 22 key data points were analyzed.

“Canada is used to scoring well in all kinds of global rankings, but this analysis goes well beyond basic GDP data,” said John Harris, Partner and leader of Grant Thornton LLP’s privately-held business practice in Canada.

“Although we sit mid-pack, we did stand out as offering a favourable business operating environment, scoring sixth place. However, our scores in the labour and human capital category and our poor showing in the economics and growth area brought down our overall ranking.”

Overall Rankings:

Canada’s economic maturity bumps up its rankings in other areas. Even though Canada’s corporate tax burden is heavier (36th place), our economy ranks first out of the fifty countries analyzed for access to medium-term capital. Canada ranks third—behind Singapore and New Zealand—for the quality of its financial regulatory system.

The ten economies at the top of the overall rankings are varied, showing that there are many paths to dynamism. Since dynamism is, to a certain extent, a function of growth potential, mature economies may score lower in certain areas, but higher in areas related to stability. One thing binding the top ten together is that they are regarded has having established an industrialized base, indicating that a dynamic business environment cannot be built overnight.

For more information jump to the Global Dynamism Index website