Survey: U.S. In Second Place As The Most Competitive Economy

According to a recent survey, the U.S. is no longer the world’s most competitive economy, largely due to the financial crisis and accumulated fiscal deficits, according to the Associated Press. The survey, combined opinions of over 13,000 business executives with economic statistics and government regulations, put Switzerland in first place and dropped the U.S. to second place.

From 2006 to 2008, the U.S. was first in the survey, conducted by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. Before that
Finland held the top spot. Switzerland has overtaken the U.S. because its economic performance has been relatively stable, the survey found. Swiss financial markets have weakened somewhat, according to the survey, citing difficulties for the country’s banks.

The major Swiss banks have been hard hit by the financial crisis. The survey made no mention of Swiss banking secrecy, which has started to crumble under U.S. pressure to hand over client names of American taxpayers suspected of setting up secret offshore accounts with Swiss bank UBS AG.

Singapore came in third, followed by Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Canada and the Netherlands.