Although the country exhibits levels of competitiveness above the Latin American average in economic sectors such as: agriculture, industry, tourism, logistics and public administration, the truth is that many indicators have registered setbacks and negative performance.
Areas such as energy, education, health, institutions, digital economy, innovation and development, territory and environment show a negative performance compared to the region, as shown by the Sectoral Competitiveness Bulletin (BCS) 2022, published by the Ministry of Economy. , Planning and Development (MEPYD.
The conclusions of this bulletin refer that, despite the fact that in agriculture, industries, tourism, logistics and public administration, the Dominican Republic is in a favorable position compared to the regional average, when comparing the results of the country with previous years, setbacks are observed in some indicators, above all, in agriculture and the labor market.
It points out that in the 2019-2021 period, 21 agricultural products reduced their participation in exports despite having generated an increase in US demand and nine experienced both a reduction in the participation of their exports and in the demand for the product in the market. reference.
Regarding the labor market, it indicates that the labor force with advanced education is well below the regional average with a score of 13.4% for the country over an average of 23% for Latin America and the Caribbean. Likewise, the level of informality in the country is much higher than in the region (57.3% over 50.5%).
Another negative indicator in the labor market is the group of employed persons with less than basic education, which stands at 17.4%, while the regional average is 8.9% of the total employed.
The qualification level of employment in the country appears in the red, indicating that its indicators are worse than the average in the region. However, the country is in a better position in the average rate of employment, participation, unemployment, in the unemployment rate in young people between 15 and 24 years of age and in the level of labor productivity in which it is located in position 19 of 27 countries.
The bulletin points out that areas such as energy, education, health, institutions, digital economy, innovation and development, territory and environment show a negative performance compared to the region and explains that these areas are characterized by requiring structural transformations to improve their competitiveness, which are visible in the long term.
Special attention
Among the recommendations offered by the MEPYD analysts, it is indicated to pay special attention to indicators such as: self-sufficiency and energy transition; level of competence of the students, specialization of the teachers and academic reputation of the universities; level of skills in prevention, health system, standards and risks associated with health security; perception of corruption, rule of law and state legitimacy; digital development and access to information and communication technologies (ICT); in aspects related to innovation and development; perception of democracy in the territory; environmental performance, natural environment, green future and risk management.
challenges
Cross-cutting axes such as: innovation, development and environment are indicated as important challenges, those referred to are key for the country in terms of competitiveness.
In the first, only two indicators are above the Latin American average; while close to 90% showed setbacks compared to the results obtained by the country in previous years.
In the environment, 66.7% of the indicators considered are below the average for the region and only 22.2% showed progress compared to previous periods.