I have often wondered why some countries are more prosperous and successful than others. My definition of a prosperous and successful nation is one where average income per citizen or perhaps GDP per capita, is relatively high and the disparity between the wealthy and the poor is very low. Successful nations are therefore those countries whose GDP per capita ranks among the highest in the world and have a low GINI Coefficient i.e. less than 0.5. With this in mind, I have compiled below, a list of what I believe makes for a successful nation.
1. Successful Nations Place High Value on Scientific Output
The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and surprisingly China, to name but a few, are some of the countries that deliver a lot of scientific research material as measured by scholarly documents published. It is scientific research which has propelled these nations to be among the most successful in the world. Based on my definition above, of what qualifies a country to be deemed a success, China does not measure up as a successful country, at least not yet. But if China continues to invest heavily in scientific research, the country may well be on the road to success.Visit this international science ranking resource for some interesting insights. Good scientific research always leads to new knowledge and often this new knowledge invariably leads to general growth and advancement. It is a matter of history now, that the idea of Google and Google search was a direct result of insights gained by the two co-founders, + Larry Page and +Sergey Brin, while doing their PhD.
2. Successful Nations have a Culture of Prolific Invention
Invention stems from innovation and successful nations are characterized by an insatiable desire and drive to innovate, to develop and create new things. One of the more objective ways of measuring the degree of invention and innovation among nations, is to look at the number of patents and trademarks registered by each country. To this end, there can be no better source for such information than the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). According to WIPO's Intellectual Property Indicators report for 2012, the year 2011 saw China overtake the USA with the most number of patent applications submitted, with Japan in third position. In total, around 2,14 million patent applications were submitted worldwide and China accounted for 526,412 applications or 24,6% of total global applications, the USA accounted for 503,582 or 23,6% of total global applications, with Japan accounting for 16% of total global patent applications. The real value for these countries will come from the commercialization of these patents, once issued. The 2012 WIPO report is very illuminating with regards to the shift in the countries which are emerging as players in the patents application game.
3. Successful Nations Value Human Life
Successful nations place a lot of value on human life, especially in terms of nurturing and preserving life. These nations have good quality medical systems with free to little cost for citizens to access the best medical care. This means therefore that per capita expenditure on medical care in these countries is relatively high. According to Business Insider, the USA and Swizerland lead the rest of the world when it comes to per capita spend on medical care. However, per capita spend alone does not necessarily translate into the best healthcare system. In the same Business Insider report, the USA only ranks 37th among the world's best Heathcare systems, and Swizterland ranks 20th. The country with the best Healthcare Systems is...France and France happens to rank fourth in terms of per capita spend on medical care.
4. Successful Nations have a well functioning Financial System
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a country's sound financial systems is based on the presence of, "banks, securities markets, pension funds, insurers, market infrastructures, central bank, and regulatory and supervisory authorities. These institutions and markets provide a framework for carrying out economic transactions and monetary policy, and help to efficiently channel savings into investment, thereby supporting economic growth." Most countries have some of these institutions in place but only countries which are truly successful have all the above elements in place, working in concert. China is now the second biggest economy in the world, after the USA and ahead of Japan. However, China has a vastly different financial system to that of Japan and the USA.
5. Successful Nations Place Value on Good Education
Education is said to be the engine for economic growth, and in my opinion, without an educated citizenry, a nation will struggle to advance and progress, even in this world of digitization and the Internet. It is no accident therefore that successful nations have high literacy rates and have a high proportion of their populations with at least an under graduate university degree. After all, research and innovation, as discussed above, are borne out of education. Following a study carried out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 247WallSt compiled a list of the top 10 most educated countries in the world. The list alone says a lot about the role education can play in the success of a nation.
6. Successful Nations have a Good Sense of Humour
Most successful nations are able to laugh at themselves, they do not take themselves too seriously. Citizens of these countries are able to poke fun at everything in society, from politicians to the wealthy, there are no sacred cows which are protected from ridicule and comedy.
Once you have checked out the video's below, i need say no more:
Successful nations are able to laugh at themselves largely because they are self assured and self-confident.
No comments:
Post a Comment