Determinants of International Competiveness Patterns in Neighboring Areas

International competitiveness is a main source of economic advancement which results in higher standards of living. This paper examines the determinants of international competitiveness as it defines international competitiveness and discusses two common conceptions that are required to achieve higher level of economic competitiveness: government policies and culture. It further explains a research methodology which is known as “Innovation Matrixâ€. Data is collected from two areas: competitiveness and culture. After describing two sets of data, the researcher tests two hypotheses: (1) long-term economic growth is a function of government policies and (2) culture plays an insignificant role in gaining competitiveness and economic growth. In conclusion, the paper makes recommendations as how a country can improve its economic competitiveness.