How Countries Compete by Richard H.K. Vietor

Governments and companies would love to know how countries compete. Unfortunately, the book consists of an extensive, but thoroughly dry analysis of the political systems, the development strategies, the fiscal and monetary policies and labour markets of Japan, Singapore, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the EU and the US. For ease of reference, Europe is described as a single entity, with the Italian competition apparently as an illustrative example. The Netherlands is mentioned only in connection with the so-called ‘Dutch disease’, the disease that affects the competitive power of countries because government expenditure feeds inflation and price increases. This book does not in any way live up to its interesting title.