KNOWLEDGE IN THE CONCEPT OF NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS IN THE ERA OF THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The economic development of countries and regional economic integrations in this century is accompanied by increasing openness and growing production and trade competitiveness of national economies in the world market. In short, the level of national competitiveness determines the ability of its institutions to shape the conditions conducive to business promotion, on the one hand, and the potential of domestic firms to take advantage of such conditions and place products on the world market, on the other. Dynamic economic growth means that companies and countries are increasingly promoting the improvement of trade competitiveness on the world market on the commercial valorization of existing and new knowledge into innovations. Strengthening innovation capacity helps countries accelerate the process of structural change and thus create conditions for dynamic economic growth, which is in the function of improving national competitiveness in the increasingly complex and demanding conditions of global business and competition. The fact is, however, that satisfactory economic development, which is based on the growth of competitiveness, fails to be achieved by all countries. Viewed in that light, the fourth industrial revolution as a phenomenon that dominates modern economic events in the world, opened new possibilities, but at the same time led to the strengthening of many imbalances, one of the expressive forms of which is the growing development gap between individual national economies. After forty years of experience in monitoring and comparing the factors of long-term competitiveness of countries, in 2018, the World Economic Forum promoted the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0. The index provides a detailed overview of the key drivers of economic growth and human development indicators in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. As an indicator of national competitiveness, the index is adjusted to the description of real events in business and the overall life of people that are shaped by the phenomenon of the fourth industrial revolution. The concept is based on the observation of the increase of real national production enabled by the growth of consumption of factors of production and total factor productivity as a measure of efficiency in the use of factors based on the commercialization of new knowledge and skills in innovation. Thus conceived, the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0. is a kind of indicator of the factors that determine economic growth and social development in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. It is an annual indicator that enables economic policy makers to assess their progress in a number of areas that determine national competitiveness in today's economic conditions. All indicators that make up the Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 are organized into 12 pillars: Institutions; Infrastructure; Application of ICT; Macroeconomic stability; Health; Skills; Product market; Job market; Financial system; Market size; Business dynamics; and Innovation Capability.