Municipal Competitiveness Index Revealed

ESEN Rector Rafael Barraza addresses the audience during the results presentation. At the head table: USAID Acting Director Carl Derrick, Antiguo Cuscatlan Mayor Milagro Navas, and Soyapango Mayor Carlos Ruiz.

With support from the Promoting Economic Opportunities Program of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), RTI International and the Superior School of Economy and Business (ESEN) presented the results of the study entitled, “Municipal Competitiveness Index 2009, El Salvador.”

A multidisciplinary team of experts from RTI and ESEN conducted the study for six months.  Over 4,000 surveys were passed to business people and vendors in the 100 most populated municipalities of El Salvador, identified by the Economic Census of the Ministry of Economy.  Two types of interviews were used: one for 4,000 business owners of all sizes and from all sectors and another one for mayors and municipal officers.  In addition, the team reviewed documents and published data on the country’s economic development.

This investigation has allowed to obtain a picture of the competitiveness status of municipalities, in other words, to show how favorable the business environment is in a given municipality.  It is expected that the Index serves as a measurement tool among municipalities, fostering a healthy competition among them to improve local policies for economic and social development.

A similar study was successfully conducted in Vietnam.  With an approximate investment of $370,000, USAID supported this study in El Salvador, which is the first one in the Central American region.