Italy's lag in competitiveness looks set to continue, a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said Monday.
In its latest assessment of competitiveness - drawn up before the global financial crisis - the EIU put Italy 16th in Europe, ahead of only Greece and Turkey, and 40th in the world below Thailand and Latvia.
Its five-year forecast from 2009-2013 sees Italy rising only one place to 39th, leapfrogging Latvia.
Italy's performance is mainly due to labour-market rigidity and high taxes, said Elido Fazzi of Business International, sister to The Economist's influential rating unit.
