Thailand No 16 in change readiness

A new study by KPMG International gives insight into the capacity of countries to respond to change caused by shocks such as natural disasters or longer-term trends such as technology, demographics, global competition and investment. 

The 2013 CRI, produced in partnership with Oxford Economics, measured the 90 countries and territories across 26 components to compare capabilities in the areas of enterprise (business environment), government, and people and civil society (social and human capital). 

The countries ranked highest in the CRI reflect a diversity of locations and size, while sharing many of the same qualities essential to change readiness: dynamic business environment, stable and effective governments, skilled population, and strong civil societies. 

Singapore ranks first, followed by Sweden, Qatar, New Zealand, Germany, Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia, the United Kingdom, Chile, the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, France, Thailand, Lithuania, the Philippines, Panama and Kazakhstan.

“A nation’s ability to respond to change is increasingly important to its success in building a sustainable economy and equitable society,” said Timothy Stiles, KPMG’s global chairman of international development assistance services and a partner of KPMG in the US. 

Among the key findings, the CRI revealed that a country’s wealth is not always a determining indicator of its ability to respond to and manage change, with a number of lower-income countries ranked as having greater change readiness capability than some more “developed” ones. 

For example, Chile, categorised as an upper-middle-income country, is ranked as high or higher in the index than many high-income countries, including the United States and France. Several lower-middle-income countries, including Panama and the Philippines, outperformed some higher-income countries in the rankings.

This year’s CRI expands the scope of KPMG’s 2012 index to include developed countries. It includes input from more than 500 interviews with experts worldwide from a range of backgrounds and more than 70 secondary data variables, including from the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, the Economist Intelligence Unit, the World Health Organisation, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. 

The CRI is structured around three pillars (enterprise capability, government capability, people and civil society capability), with sub-indices for each pillar, such as infrastructure, fiscal and budgeting, government strategic planning, environment, food and energy security, access to information and health among others.