Dr. TSANG Chun Kei, ThomasThomasDr. TSANG Chun KeiLi, Sung KoSung KoLi2026-06-302026-06-302025In Yeung, W. M., Woo, K. Y., Tang, C. H., Lau, H. M., Tsang, C. K., Li, S. K., Ho, T. Y., Au, W. K., & Wong, W. K. (Eds.). (2025). Causality and behavioral finance studies (pp. 54-80). Scientific and Business World.http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11861/27855This paper justifies the use of competitiveness indices in empirical studies by examining the causal relationship between the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and economic growth rate. A competitiveness map is introduced to identify outperformers of competitiveness and thus investment opportunities. Adopting panel Grangercausality test to examine the causal relationship between GCI and economic growth rate in the period 2006-2015, this paper finds evidence of two-way causality between GCI and economic growth rate of most countries in the world. Such causal relationship breaks down in developing countries. It is explained by the effectiveness of resource allocation mechanism to generate competitiveness. The paper further presents a competitiveness map based on data envelopment analysis to analyze the effectiveness in generating competitiveness. This information is used to identify best performing countries based on competitiveness. The study supports the use of GCI to analyze the business environment in different countries for making investment decisions. This approach can be extended to test other existing competitiveness indices. The competitiveness map illustrated in the paper provides an easy and effective screening tool to identify outperformers in terms of competitiveness.enBook Chapter