The Biofuels Sector and Competitiveness

Abstract

A transcription of a lecture delivered by the Presidential High Commissioner for Competitiveness and Productivity in October 2007, this article presents the state of Colombian competitiveness policy and the projected role of the biofuels sector within it. The author describes the government's economic-growth strategies and their impact on macroeconomic indicators between 2002 and 2006, noting the country's decline in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index. The text presents the competitiveness targets of the 2007-2010 National Development Plan, describes the creation of the National Competitiveness System, and develops the case of biofuels as a driver of productive transformation, presenting data on land availability in Colombia for this purpose and its job-creation potential.