The first six months of 2010 are already behind us and since this has been an extraordinarily good year for publicity about Costa Rica, I wanted to take a quick look back over the last six months to remind ourselves how bloody lucky we are to be living in Costa Rica:

In case you missed it, New York Times op-ed columnist Nicolas Kristoff wrote a terrific article in early January about Costa Rica entitled: The Happiest People. The first paragraph gives you all you need when Kristoff says: “Hmmm. You think it’s a coincidence? Costa Rica is one of the very few countries to have abolished its army, and it’s also arguably the happiest nation on earth.”

Kristoff adds that: “What sets Costa Rica apart is its remarkable decision in 1949 to dissolve its armed forces and invest instead in education. Increased schooling created a more stable society, less prone to the conflicts that have raged elsewhere in Central America. Education also boosted the economy, enabling the country to become a major exporter of computer chips and improving English-language skills so as to attract American eco-tourists.”

The title of Deloitte’s April 2010 report about business in Costa Rica is ‘Excellent prospects for the future of business’ and when Deloitte says Costa Rica’s business prospects are “excellent”, isn’t that great news?

Moth with it’s own fur coat..

Costa Rica was also ranked the 8th Most Stable Country in the world by The Economist, the 5th Cleanest Country in the world by Yale’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the first country to be designated a “BioGem” by the Natural Resource Defense Counsel.

When the President of Intel, Paul Otellini says the education system in Costa Rica is “outstanding”, and speaks of his “…incredible engineering team” in Costa Rica and raves about the: “…caliber and quality of the people who work here”, that’s not just great news for entrepreneurs thinking about setting up new businesses in Costa Rica, having a polite, well educated, multi-lingual society is good for everyone living in Costa Rica, including retired people, right?

Can you believe these red legs and transparent wings?

The 2010 Global Peace Index was published by the Sydney, Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace and rankes Costa Rica was #1 in all of Central America and in July 2010 Costa Rica was recognized as the Greenest and Happiest country on the Planet by the British independent research group New Economics Foundation. “Costa Ricans report the highest life satisfaction in the world and have the second-highest average life expectancy of the new world (second to Canada),” the organization said in a statement.

None of these accolades mention the perfect Spring-like weather all year round and the very amiable and attractive Costa Rican people – the Ticos – however, all of this confirms what we already know, that Costa Rica is the wealthiest, safest and most peaceful country in Central America, that Costa Rica has “excellent prospects” and is the greenest and happiest place on earth so it’s not so much of a secret anymore but maybe, just maybe there’s space enough for you…

The Violet Sabrewing hummingbird

One of our VIP Members wrote to me saying: “Scott, what you write about the cost of living in Costa Rica is too true to be tolerated. Please withdraw this article immediately or we’ll be awash in the unwashed of the Northern Hemisphere looking for a place they can survive and thrive. Can’t we just keep Costa Rica our little secret?”

Sunset from my San Jose apartment…

Looking at data collected across 132 countries, the Gallup Organization based their marks — released this month in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology — on representative samples of more than 136,000 people in each country. Respondents were asked how they would rate their lives on a scale from zero (worst possible) to 10 (best possible), as well as answering a series of questions on positive or negative emotions.

See Gallup’s top 15 countries, each with a mean score between 7.0 and 7.7, HERE

Inside Costa Rica

Money boosts life satisfaction, but not necessarily positive feelings, study finds. A list of rankings of selected nations on types of prosperity, Costa Rica placed 4th in “positive feelings” while placing 41st in GDP/Capita.

In contrast countries like the United States, Italy and Japan, who ranked 1st, 18th and 14th, respectively in GDP/Capita, ranked 26th, 67th and 44th, respectively, in positive feelings.

An analysis of the findings from a study of 136.000 people in 132 countries suggests there is no single prescription for happiness, which depends on many factors, including local culture and expectations.

The findings from the data, gathered in the first Gallup World Poll, are published in the July issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

“The public always wonders: Does money make you happy?” Ed Diener, PhD, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Illinois and a senior scientist with the Gallup Organization, says in a news release. “This study shows that it all depends on how you define happiness, because if you look at life satisfaction, how you evaluate your life as a whole, you see a pretty strong correlation around the world between income and happiness.”

The pollsters asked people questions on a wide range of topics, including whether their basic needs were met, what kinds of conveniences they owned, and whether their psychological needs were met.

Participants were also asked about positive and negative emotions experienced the previous day, whether they felt respected, had family and friends they could count on in an emergency, and how free they felt to choose their daily activities.

Diener says positive feelings are much more associated with factors such as whether they feel respected, have autonomy, and if their jobs are fulfilling.

“Everybody has been looking at just life satisfaction and income,” he says. “And while it is true that getting richer will make you more satisfied with your life, it may not have the big impact we thought on enjoying life.”

Among findings:

* The United States had the highest income but ranked 16th in life satisfaction and 26th on positive feelings.

* Some nations such as Costa Rica and New Zealand are happier than their income levels would suggest. Costa Rica ranks 41st in income but fourth in positive feelings, while New Zealand ranks 22nd in incomes but first in positive feelings.

* Some mid-level countries such as Costa Rica do well and some like South Korea less well “in part because of the quality of social relationships,” Diener says in emailed responses to questions from WebMD.

* Denmark ranks high across categories. The country ranked No. 1 on life satisfaction, seventh on positive feelings, and fifth in income.

* Extremely impoverished countries in Africa generally scored low on various categories, but no nation came in lowest in all types of happiness.

* Self-esteem is more important to happiness in the U.S. than in “traditional” cultures.

Also, factors that influence feelings of well-being vary from country to country, Deiner says, adding that the study “clearly shows” that there is no single prescription for happiness.

Money, he says, no more guarantees happiness than cigarette smoking guarantees cancer, but they increase the chances.

In studies of poor people, researchers find that some are happy, in part because their needs are met.

“We have interviewed happy people in the slums of Calcutta and they can be relatively happy, although dissatisfied with their poverty, because they are rich in family and friends,” he says.

Money makes a bigger difference to happiness among poor people, but it takes a lot more additional money to change the happiness of a person who is well-off, Diener says.

According to a statement on the Casa Presidencial website, while in Panama, Chinchilla spoke with the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak about boosting security measures. Lee pledged to support Central America in the training of its security forces, a step that will be included in a memorandum of understanding that is being negotiated between South Korea and the region’s governments.

Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said the relationship between Central America and South Korea could draw investment from powerful Korean corporations such as Samsung, LG, Kia and Hyundai.

The meeting was Chinchilla’s first appearance before SICA as president of Costa Rica. During her trip, she also met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who attended the SICA meeting as an observer. Berlusconi was in Panama promoting greater economic ties between Italy and the region.

“Costa Rica has been one of the most successful countries in Latin America in terms of foreign investment,” said President Laura Chinchilla, calling her country an “economic miracle.”

Chinchilla said that for each million dollars of foreign investment, at least 17 direct jobs are created.

“We have to understand that a united platform in favor of foreign investment and production of exports gives us not only access to markets, but also better levels of competition and higher economic welfare,” she said.

Foreign investment has increased an average of 12 percent each year since 1990, but fell by 34 percent during the crisis year of 2009. Former President Oscar Arias is credited with a 132 percent overall increase in foreign investment during his second four-year term, which ended this year.

Foreign Trade Minister Anabel Gonzaléz pointed to the telecommunications, tourism and energy sectors as some of the most promising target areas for investment.

Not only is Chinchilla looking to attract more money into Costa Rica, but she is also working to increase the country’s exports by 22 percent during her term. For each percentage-point increase in exports, she said, 7,500 jobs are created.

Chinchilla said her administration will focus on improving infrastructure, streamlining regulations and continuing to educate the labor force to meet the target goal, which she stressed has been brought closer into reach by the recently signed trade agreements with Europe, China and the United States.

Direct foreign investment has increased an average of 12 percent each year since 1990, but fell 34 percent in 2009.

That was the announcement yesterday by the Central Bank’s new president, Rodrigo Bolaños, during a press conference, which, until recently the head of the bank, Francisco de Paula Gutiérrez, took the opportunity to announce his retirement after seven years leading the monetary policies of the country, handing over to his successor the sawdust, nails and screws of the bank.

Jokingly, Gutiérrez told Bolaños that the most dangerous of the bank was the sawdust of the sawing of the wooden floors, while the nails and screws are the problems to come along the way.

“The major challenge is to find ways to consolidate the move to a floating exchange rate and to consolidate inflation to one one digit and not the current 10% to 15% range”, said Bolaños.

The new bank president said that from a certain point of view the system of band met its objectives of the Central Bank at the time, maintaining interests rate and inflation low and controlling the amount of money in circulation.

However, this system (bans) is also responsible for so much fluctuations in the price of the dollar, which needs to be stabilized.

Bolaños did not say when the change will occur, for the bank’s board of directors have yet to establish the rules of the intermediation.

“With the managed float system, the Central Bank wants to consolidate its control so that it can fulfill its inflation targets”, said Bolaños.

Outgoing president, Francisco de Paula Gutiérrez, highlighted yesterday his main achievement of his term in achieving a low inflation rate, but regretted not being able to change the bank’s process of intervention.

Costa Rica Tranquility

The 2010 Global Peace Index has been published by Sydney, Autralia-based Institute for Economics and Peace annually ranks 149 countries based on a range of variables, including corruption, crime rates, military spending and access to primary education.

Costa Rica Culture

The GPI commented specifically on Costa Rica’s improved ranking; “Costa Rica’s high ranking in the GPI (it rose 3 places in 2010 to 26th) partly reflects very low scores for almost all its measures of militarisation, in step with the abolition of the country’s army at the end of the civil war in 1948. Costa Rica’s relations with neighbouring countries are adjudged to have improved last year and violent crime was perceived to have fallen to a relatively low level (Cuba continues to receive the lowest score in Latin America for this indicator).”

The Institute for Economics and Peace is an independent not-for-profit research institute dedicated to developing the inter-relationships between business, peace and economic development.

Get ready for lightning speed internet service in the coming year as the Radiográfica Costarricense (RACSA) retools, investing some us$360 million dollars in infrastructure that will increase connection speed up to 100 times that of today.

Alberto Bermúdez, RACSA’s general manage, says the state institution will offer connections up to 1GB and at an economical price, starting at us$30 a month for the basic service.

Currently, RACSA and ICE offer connection speeds from 128kB to 4Mbps at prices ranging from us$11 to us$30, by way of dial up, cable modem (in conjunction with the cable companies) and ADSL.

The new high speed RACSA connection will first be introduced in the Gran Área Metropolitana (San José), from Rohrmoser to San Pedro.

In Costa Rica, 45% of the population (some 2 million) is connected to the internet.

Currently RACSA competes with its parent company, ICE which provides mobile internet and ADSL and AMNET with its cable internet.

The move by RACSA will force competitors, including ICE, to ajust their prices downward and increase connections speeds as well.

Microsoft manager says Costa Rica is on track to become a developed nation

By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | awilliams@ticotimes.net

An often-mentioned goal of President Laura Chinchilla’s administration is to transform Costa Rica into the first “developed” country in Latin America.

Powerpoint: Juan Pablo Consuegra, the Microsoft Corporation’s general manager in Costa Rica, discusses the importance of technology and how the company is supporting Costa Rica’s national goals and projects.

Francesco Vicenzi | Tico Times

The recipe for success in achieving that goal will require many ingredients, and one of the most vital of them will be the development of advanced, accessible and reliable technology.

Over the last decade, using computers, cell phones and all-encompassing handheld devices has gone from optional to almost mandatory. Many jobs require knowledge of how to operate a computer, schools teach computer literacy courses, and to roam about without a cell phone is considered almost Precambrian. These days, communication and information are expected to be immediately accessible. Therefore, to be considered as such, a developed country must live up to these standards.

In a speech in Costa Rica in May, Norm Judah, the chief technology officer of the Microsoft Corporation, the world’s leading developer and provider of computer software, commented on today’s high-tech life.

“One of the biggest changes with the Internet has been the immediacy of information,” he said. “If you are trying to find information, whether you are looking for it on your computer or on your phone, you can get it. We have practically done away with the need to go to people to get information. You don’t even have to go to a library to get a reference book. Almost everything is available online.”

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

Balqon Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of zero emissions heavy-duty electric vehicles for Class 7 and Class 8 applications, will be making its vehicles available in Costa Rica by way of a dealer agreement.

“Costa Rica has been setting the pace among nations for reducing carbon emissions and has declared the ambitious goal of becoming the first country in the world to be carbon neutral,” said Balwinder Samra, president and CEO of Balqon Corporation. “Electric Cars of Costa Rica has been leading the effort to introduce new zero emissions technologies to Costa Rica and has extensive experience in NEV inner city delivery vehicle markets.”

“In addition to introducing all-electric medium and heavy-duty trucks for transportation of goods and services, we plan to jointly develop both the new and conversion vehicle markets in Costa Rica by providing our proprietary drive system and high-capacity lithium-ion battery packs for use in various vehicle platforms,” said Samra.

James Middlebrooks, president and founder of Electric Cars of Costa Rica, commented: “We are excited to deliver to Costa Rica Balqon’s extensively tested and successfully commercialized zero emissions technology for heavy-duty vehicles. We expect these advanced technologies to be quickly adopted by our existing environmentally-conscious customer base of resorts, distribution warehouses, and inner city distribution companies.”

Costa Rica is ranked first among the Americas and third in the world in terms of the 2010 Environmental Performance Index. In 2007, the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to become the first carbon neutral country by 2021.

According to the New Economics Foundation, Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the “greenest” country in the world. Also, according to an October 2009 article published by Summa Magazine, Costa Rica is the world’s fourth largest exporter of high technology due to the fact that nearly half of its sales from manufacturing relate to products developed with proprietary technologies.

Electric Cars of Costa Rica represents the third international dealer agreement Balqon has established since the first of the year. In Febuary, Balqon signed Autoelevadores Yale, a leading distributor of material handling equipment and electric vehicles in Argentina. In March, Balqon signed Industrias IVOR, a distributor of trucks, firefighting trucks and equipment, refuse trucks, and heavy machinery for material handling products in Colombia.