FRANCE ATTRACTIVENESS SCOREBOARD
&
SURVEY ON FRANCE’S BUSINESS IMAGE
FRANCE ATTRACTIVENESS SCOREBOARD
For the seventh consecutive year, Business France, in conjunction with the Treasury Directorate at the French Ministry for the Economy and Finance, and the French Commission for Regional Equality (CGET), is proud to present the France Attractiveness Scoreboard. By compiling a vast array of economic data concerning outcome indicators and economic attractiveness criteria, and without resorting to data-weighted aggregate indicators, the Scoreboard enables an objective analysis to be made of France as an investment location.
Reasons for publishing the France Attractiveness Scoreboard
To meet the challenge of measuring France’s investment attractiveness in relation to other major European countries.
To shed light on the complexity of measuring an economy’s attractiveness, a notion that depends on a considerable number of different criteria.
To measure this attractiveness using quantifiable economic indicators from leading data sources (OECD, IMF, UNCTAD, Eurostat, etc.).
Methodological approach
A comparison of France’s attractiveness relative to 13 other countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, United States and Sweden.
The Scoreboard uses 126 indicators to examine economic attractiveness criteria in nine fields influencing the location of foreign investments: market size and strength / education and human capital / research and innovation / infrastructure / administrative and regulatory environment / financial environment / costs and taxation / quality of life / green growth.
Key points
1- This seventh edition confirms that France’s structural advantages are fundamental to its investment attractiveness, and also highlights the impact of reforms underway to boost the competitiveness of the French economy.
2- In contrast to international rankings based on composite competitiveness indicators and opinion surveys that provide patchy analysis far removed from the reality observed by investors on the ground, the France Attractiveness Scoreboard provides comparative and objective analysis of the main criteria against which France’s investment attractiveness can be judged.
3- Main findings:
France’s strengths: Market size and location, human capital, an innovation- and R&D-friendly tax environment, a beneficial administrative and regulatory environment for business creation, high-quality infrastructure, a cost-effective energy mix, rising hourly labor productivity and moderation of labor costs in industry.
France’s weaknesses: Taxation in particular.
CONCLUSION: The Scoreboard seeks to demonstrate that investment attractiveness cannot be measured using a single indicator, and must instead be assessed holistically by considering all the components that make an economy attractive. It pinpoints a number of areas in which France must regain ground in today’s competitive environment, and underlines the purpose of current reforms.
FRANCE’S FIELDS OF EXCELLENCE Top 20 indicators of France’s attractiveness as an investment location | France’s position | Leading countries |
Fertility rate (2014) | 1 | France, Ireland |
Access to EU-27 markets (2015) | 3 | Belgium, Netherlands |
Trends in unit labor costs (2015) - Manufacturing sector | 1 | France, Netherlands |
Trends in productivity per hour worked (2015) - Manufacturing sector | 2 | Sweden, France |
Government funding of business enterprise R&D expenditure (BERD) and R&D tax incentives (2013) | 1 | France, Belgium |
R&D personnel (2014) | 4 | Finland, Sweden |
Net growth in active enterprises (2014)- Total economy | 1* | France, United Kingdom |
Net growth in active enterprises (2014)- Manufacturing sector | 1* | France, Netherlands |
15 leading airports in the EU-28 (2015) – cargo | 1 | France (Paris-CDG), Germany (Frankfurt am Main) |
15 leading airports in the EU-28 (2015) – passengers | 2 | United Kingdom (Heathrow), France (Paris-CDG) |
Broadband penetration rate (2015) | 2 | Netherlands, France |
Electricity rates (2015) | 3 | Sweden, Finland |
Enterprises and individuals using the internet for interaction with public authorities (2015) | 2 | Finland, France |
Change in lending to non-financial corporations (2016) | 1* | France, Germany |
Global market share in European investment funds industry (2015) | 3 | Ireland, Germany |
Venture capital investment (2015) | 3 | Finland, Ireland |
Carbon intensity (2014) | 2 | Sweden, France |
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