Business Roundtable had the opportunity this week to hear from Michael E. Porter, a Harvard Business School professor and the  leading authority on competitiveness, studying, among numerous aspects, how countries compare to one another in creating an economically competitive environment. Along with his colleague Jan Rivkin, Porter has been releasing reports on U.S. competitiveness based on surveys of thousands of Business School alumni from all around the world. The results are not encouraging.

Porter has solutions for America's fading competitiveness, ones that track closely with the policies that Business Roundtable considers priorities. He, too, believes business tax reform would be a powerful force for the kind of economic growth needed to put more people to work. Porter and Rivkin outlined their proposed policies in a 2012 piece in The Economist. A quick highlight list from "What Washington must do now": 

1. Ease the immigration of highly skilled individuals. 

2. Simplify the corporate-tax code. 

3. Tax overseas profits only where they are earned. 

4. Address trade distortions. 

5. Simplify regulation. 

6. Enact a multi-year programme to improve infrastructure. 

7. Agree on a framework for developing shale gas and oil. 

8. Create a sustainable federal budget. 

Agreed. Agreed. Agreed.

Porter has spoken positively about Canada for undertaking reforms that have made the country more globally competitive. Canada has gotten serious controlling the federal debt, lowering corporate tax rates and negotiating free trade agreements that expand its exports.

But Canada, of course, still has its challenges. 

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce recently released its "Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness" report, identifying the obstacles while also offering policy solutions.

The issue:

Canada is struggling to stay competitive. In fact, our country’s ability to remain a leader among nations is stagnating. For the second consecutive year, the World Economic Forum ranked Canada 14th in global economic competitiveness—down two places from 2011 and sliding five places since 2009. Restoring Canada’s competitiveness requires an ambitious, aggressive and innovative private sector. Strategic thinking and smart public policies are also needed to address long-standing structural impediments that hinder businesses at a time when they need much greater flexibility to compete.

The top 10 barriers: 

1. Skills shortages

2. Uncompetitive travel and tourism strategies

3. Inadequate plans for addressing deficiencies in public infrastructure 

4. Barriers to success in global markets 

5. Internal barriers to trade 

6. A complex and costly tax system 

7. Lack of clear sustainability policies 

8. The severe shortage of economic development tools for businesses in Canada’s territories

9. Inconsistent regulatory policies between Canada and the U.S. 

10. Insufficient support for innovation in Canadian manufacturing 

Familiar issues, all.