By the level of development Dnipropetrovsk oblast outperforms such EU states as Romania, Latvia, Greece and Bulgaria yet falls behind Russia and Azerbaijan

Dnipropetrovsk. 6 July. In 2009-2010 Dnipropetrovsk region took the 2nd place after Kyiv in the Ukraine Competitiveness Report and the 65th position in the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) placing between the Russian Federation and Romania. Nataliya Izosimova, Managing Director of the Foundation for Effective Governance (FEG), stated it in Dnipropetrovsk at the presentation of the Ukraine Competitiveness Report developed by FEG in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

“Despite the crisis Dnipropetrovsk oblast managed to go 10 positions up in the international rankings in 2010 and become the leader among Ukrainian regions. In gross regional product per capita the region’s performance is almost twice as high as the average Ukrainian figure”, she said. Ms Izosimova stated that Dnipropetrovsk region outdid four EU members – Romania, Latvia, Greece and Bulgaria – and one CIS country, Kazakhstan. However, the region lags behind the most competitive nations in the CIS – Russia and Azerbaijan.

“The leading position of our region is based on the real factors. Dnipropetrovsk region has the most powerful industrial facilities. We produce almost 10% of Ukrainian GDP. Dnipropetrovsk plays a very important role in the country’s economy in almost all key economic indicators. We boosted production by a third in March-May 2010 year-on-year. Our economic spurt was important both for the region and Ukraine as a whole,” stated the Chairman of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration Aleksandr Vilkul.

According to the Ukraine Competitiveness Report, Dnipropetrovsk region takes the lead in business sophistication. The region ranked 2nd in infrastructure (the poor quality of roads is a major problem, the region ranks 17th on this indicator). Dnipropetrovsk oblast rounds out the top three Ukrainian regions in innovations. This can be explained by the high-quality research and cooperation between universities and business.

The problems confronting the oblast are health and primary education (11th place). For example, the region showed high rates of TV incidence and infant mortality, a low rate of life expectancy, and a poor quality of primary education.

By the level of institutions development Dnipropetrovsk region ranked 13th. The weak points are limited ability to protect intellectual property, judicial independence, wastefulness of government spending. However, the region places well in the transparency of government policymaking and the efficiency of corporate operations. The political instability over the past years, tax policy and corruption are problematic factors for doing business.

For the third year in a row, FEG in tandem with the WEF has been analyzing Ukraine’s competitiveness both on national and regional levels. In 2010 the Foundation developed a study of 20 administrative units: the city of Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zakarpatye, Lviv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Kmelnytsky, Zaporizhzhya, Odesa, Luhansk, Kherson, Volyn, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Sumy, Zhytomir, Vinnytsia oblasts and AR Crimea .
“These regions account for 90% of Ukrainian GDP. In future we plan to cover all regions. This is a very important objective for us: this will help us have a deeper understanding of the challenges to be met by each region to improve its competitiveness," said Nataliya Izosimova.

According to the Report, Ukraine fell ten places to the 82nd position among 133 countries in the Global Competitiveness Report. The country was placed among developing African and Latin American countries, next to Gambia and Algeria.

For more detailed information on the Foundation’s comprehensive Ukraine’s competitiveness study, please visit our official website: www.feg.org.ua

Profile
The Foundation for Effective Governance (www.feg.org.ua) was established in 2007 following initiative of Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov with a mission to develop and implement projects and programs, which encourage the long-term economic development of Ukraine. FEG targets to help reach public and political consensus in key areas of the economic reform programs.

To reach the objective the Foundation involves the leading Ukrainian and international experts with impeccable reputation. The International Advisory Board, which includes prominent public and political figures from different countries, ensures the Foundation’s independence. Among its board members are former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell; former U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee; former president of the National Bank of Hungary György Surányi; and Managing Director of Morgan Stanley’s Office in Kiev Ihor Mitiukov. The International Advisory Board takes an active part in building the Foundation’s strategy, selecting the priority projects, and representing FEG both inside and outside Ukraine.

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