Ukraine drops 10 places in World Economic Forum's 2006.

(From The Ukrainian Times)

Geneva Ukraine has seen deterioration in its competitiveness over the past year, dropping from 68th down to 78th place in the World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) rankings for 2006-2007. The economy has grown at a healthy pace during the last couple of years but for this growth to be sustained it will be necessary to tighten policies to improve the outlook for the public finances, slow down inflation and create room in the budget for higher outlays for upgrading the countrys infrastructure. More importantly, a number of reforms need to be implemented to improve the countrys institutional environment and the investment climate. Ukraine suffers from dysfunctional property rights, perceptions of abuse and arbitrariness at all levels of government, including in the courts. While levels of corruption appear to have come down from early 2004, they are still high by international standards. The country does better in terms of…