Recipe for Success

Korea (South, of course) has had a meteoric rise up the competitiveness ladder ... mirroring that of Singapore a couple of decades earlier.

To what do we attribute their successes. Well, of course to productivity - borne out of essentially stable economies, favourable macroeconomic climates .. and discipline - a willingness of the workforce to work for both their own gain and the greater good of society.

But one other thing as well - creativity. Both of these countries - and especially Korea - have not only adopted 'Western' technologies ... they have adapted, refined, improved and extended them.

This is a 'killer combination - productivity and creativity. Together, they are unbeatable. Of course each will slip a little ... but if that overriding discipline remains, they will come back.

Singapore has been 'off the pace' recently - not performing badly, but not as well as it was doing .. or as it can. The government knows this and is taking measures to rectify this 'slippage' ... and it has Korea firnly in its sights as both role model and competitor.