Quotes and Source

Quotes

"Good taste is the worst vice ever invented."

-- Dame Edith Sitwell, English poet and eccentric, in New Zealand's Christchurch Press, November 1, 2003

"The best way to end this problem and the war it has brought us is to legalize drugs."

-- Bogota's newly elected mayor, Lucho Garzon, on how to stop Colombia's constant bloodshed, quoted in El Colombiano during his campaign

Source

The world's powerhouse economy to beat is…Finland's? So says the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report, which ranks the long-term growth potential of 102 countries by examining the macroeconomic environment, public institutions, and technological development and innovation. Rounding out the top five were the United States, Sweden, Denmark, and Taiwan, while "economic miracle" China fell in the rankings due to "concerns about red tape, corruption, judicial independence, and trade barriers." The index underscored the centrality of stable public institutions, finding that an increase in the quality of the rule of law from "the current relatively low level of Ukraine to the 'middling' level of South Africa" would be associated in the long term with a fourfold increase in incomes. The study found no statistical relationship between foreign aid and improvements in growth or competitiveness. The report is at www.weforum.org/gcr2003.