JRC Statistical Audit of the 2020 Global Attractiveness Index

Abstract

Attractiveness is a crucial factor in the global scramble for talented people, investments and know-how. It is a prerequisite for competitiveness and it remains so also in the new challenging scenario depicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The European House - Ambrosetti has developed the Global Attractiveness Index (GAI) to provide countries with a tool to measure and benchmark a country's attractiveness as determining element of its ability to be competitive and grow. The GAI - now at this fifth edition - builds on four attributes of attractiveness - Openness, Innovation, Efficiency, and Endowment - which are captured by 21 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), then aggregated into a single summary measure of attractiveness. As in the previous editions, the GAI 2020 ranks 144 countries which cover approximately 93% of the world’s population and 99%of Gross Domestic Product (in US$) worldwide. This framework inevitably entails both conceptual and practical challenges. Conducted by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, the statistical audit of the 2020 version of the GAI aims at maximising the reliability and transparency of the index. The statistical quality check should enable policy analysts and researchers alike to draw more relevant and meaningful advice to improve or fully unleash countries' attractiveness potential.