A landmark study, commissioned by FedEx from SRI International, presents the first in-depth look at the scope and opportunities of Access.
The study quantifies and details how nations around the world have gained from improved Access to ideas, talent and resources. And it provides a diagnostic tool for those working to further improve Access.
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The Power of Access
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Measuring the Benefits of Access
The SRI study defines the benefits of Access in terms of People, Businesses and Nations. It finds that increased Access has a tremendous positive impact on economic growth, quality of life, competitiveness, international trade and financial flows.
Access benefits people, businesses and nations alike through greater opportunities to participate, choose and improve their prospects:
People benefit through the opportunities created by access to job markets, social groups, life choices, personal finance, health and education.
Businesses benefit from greater access to physical goods and information, transforming the ways companies operate, innovate, compete and create value.
Nations benefit because they thrive or stagnate depending on their level of access to the inputs that supply their economies — and to their ability to market what they produce.
Download these PDFs to read the SRI study:
The Access Index
The reports Access Index ranks 75 nations around the world based on nearly two dozen indicators of physical and information Access.
The results are unequivocal: The 10 nations that afford their citizens the highest degree of Access had an average GDP per capita growth rate of 22.6% between 1993 and 2003. The 10 lowest Access nations posted an average rate of only 14.1%. Full details and additional detailed indexes are available in the .
Access Index Rankings and Scoring
Rank
Country
Score
Rank
Country
Score
1
Hong Kong
91.1
39
Turkey
43.4
2
Singapore
89.1
40
Poland
41.8
3
Denmark
85.3
41
Mauritius
41.5
4
Switzerland
84.2
42
Uruguay
41.4
5
Netherlands
83.1
43
Argentina
41.0
6
Finland
82.6
44
Jordan
40.4
7
Germany
82.1
45
Mexico
40.4
8
Sweden
81.9
46
Russia
40.3
9
United Kingdom
80.5
47
Brazil
39.9
10
France
79.0
48
El Salvador
39.3
11
Belgium
74.9
49
Jamaica
38.5
12
United States
74.8
50
Panama
37.8
13
Canada
74.6
51
Bulgaria
37.6
14
Austria
74.3
52
China
37.6
15
Norway
74.0
53
Ukraine
37.2
16
New Zealand
73.7
54
Romania
37.2
17
Iceland
72.4
55
Trinidad &
Tobago
36.0
18
Australia
69.8
56
Sri Lanka
35.9
19
Japan
69.7
57
Costa Rica
35.7
20
Israel
69.1
58
Egypt
35.7
21
Taiwan
68.3
59
India
34.9
22
South Korea
66.9
60
Indonesia
33.7
23
Ireland
64.7
61
Columbia
32.7
24
Portugal
64.5
62
Venezuela
31.3
25
Spain
65.0
63
Dominican Republic
31.1
26
Estonia
63.0
64
Peru
31.1
27
Greece
62.9
65
Phillipines
27.4
28
Italy
61.9
66
Bolivia
26.3
29
Slovak
Republic
60.3
67
Zimbabwe
23.5
30
Czech
Republic
59.9
68
Paraguay
23.2
31
Slovenia
59.8
69
Honduras
23.2
32
Chile
57.4
70
Guatemala
21.5
33
Malaysia
55.3
71
Ecuador
20.8
34
Latvia
51.2
72
Nicaragua
18.5
35
Lithuania
50.9
73
Vietnam
18.3
36
Hungary
45.8
74
Nigeria
17.3
37
Thailand
44.4
75
Bangladesh
14.4
38
South Africa
44.3
SRI's Access Index™ scored and ranked each nation based on 22 indicators of
access to physical items and information in the categories of trade;
transport; telecommunications; and news, media and information services.
Three related versions of the Index measure the impact of Access on people,
businesses and nations - each using 18-20 variables in categories including
empowerment, connection, innovation, market reach, growth and
competitiveness.
