From 1 to 6

We have slipped from the first to the sixth position in something called the Global Competitiveness Index, a product of the World Economic Forum, the people who bring you the Davos forum. The countries ahead of us are Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore. India is 43rd, China 54th.

The index is comprised of a country's standing in nine 'pillars': institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomy, health and primary education, higher education and training, market efficiency, technological readiness, business sophistication and innovation. Each pillar has sub-categories. It seems to me that we are weakest in

• institutions - public trust of politicians, favoritism in decisions of government officials, wastefulness of government spending, efficacy of corporate boards
• infrastructure - quality of transport infrastructure
• macroeconomy - government surplus/deficit, national savings rate, government debt
• higher education and training - quality of educational system, quality of math and science education
• market efficiency - agricultural policy costs
• innovation - availability of scientists and engineers