  Politicians world-wide frequently promise a better life for their citizens.
We find that the probability that a country will increase its {\it per capita}
GDP ({\it gdp}) rank within a decade follows an exponential distribution with
decay constant $\lambda = 0.12$. We use the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
and the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and find that the distribution of
change in CPI (GCI) rank follows exponential functions with approximately the
same exponent as $\lambda$, suggesting that the dynamics of {\it gdp}, CPI, and
GCI may share the same origin. Using the GCI, we develop a new measure, which
we call relative competitiveness, to evaluate an economy's competitiveness
relative to its {\it gdp}. For all European and EU countries during the
2008-2011 economic downturn we find that the drop in {\it gdp} in more
competitive countries relative to {\it gdp} was substantially smaller than in
relatively less competitive countries, which is valuable information for
policymakers.
