Romania, Poland and Russia are among the rising stars in a recent index put together by PwC, after these countries have shown remarkable improvements since 2000.

If we take a look at Romania’s economic development over a longer period of time, we see a remarkable evolution compared to the year 2000. But this is not a guarantee that our country will avoid the <middle income trap> and will make a steady transition to being a developed economy. We need a national project that will foster reindustrialization, attract foreign investments and help consolidate local capital in order to win the modernization wager”, stated Vasile Iuga, Country Managing Partner, PwC Romania.

Most emerging markets have continued to make progress since 2007, trying to escape the middle income trap, which occurs when a country's growth plateaus and eventually stagnates after reaching middle income levels.

Romania ranks 24th in PwC's ESCAPE ranking, up from 37th in the year 2000. Poland went from the 27th place in 2000, to the 21st in 2012. Russia went up from number 39 in 2000, to 25 in 2012.

Many northern European economies have also performed consistently well according to the index, including: Sweden (1st), Switzerland (2nd), the Netherlands (4th), Finland (5th) and Denmark (6th). Outside Europe, Singapore scores well (3rd) while Australia has moved up from 13th place in 2000 to 7th in 2012. Malaysia has also performed well, moving up to 14th place in 2012 from 17th in 2007.

The new PwC ESCAPE index measures the country’s performance and progress over time, covering five dimensions relevant to escaping from the middle income trap for emerging economies or, for advanced economies, escaping from stagnation after the financial crisis. These are economic growth and stability, social progress and cohesion, communications technology, political, legal and regulatory institutions and environmental sustainability.

editor@romania-insider.com