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Ease of doing business index

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The ease of doing business index is an index created jointly by Simeon Djankov and Gerhard Pohl, two leading economists at the Central and Eastern Europe sector of the World Bank Group. The academic research for the report was done jointly with professors Oliver Hart and Andrei Shleifer.[1] Higher rankings (a low numerical value) indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights. Empirical research funded by the World Bank to justify their work show that the economic growth impact of improving these regulations is strong.[2] An example of such empirical research is a paper on business regulation and poverty, published in Economics Letters.

"Empirical research is needed to establish the optimal level of business regulation—for example, what the duration of court procedures should be and what the optimal degree of social protection is. The indicators compiled in the Doing Business project allow such research to take place. Since the start of the project in November 2001, more than 3,000 academic papers have used one or more indicators constructed in Doing Business and the related background papers by its authors."[3]

World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index map for 2020

Methodology

The report is, above all, a benchmark study of regulation. The survey consists of a questionnaire designed by the Doing Business team with the assistance of academic advisers. The questionnaire centers on a simple business case that ensures comparability across economies and over time. The survey also bases assumptions on the legal form of the business, size, location, and nature of its operations.[4] The ease of doing business index is meant to measure regulations directly affecting businesses and does not directly measure more general conditions such as a nation's proximity to large markets, quality of infrastructure, inflation, or crime.

The next step of gathering data surveys of over 12,500 expert contributors (lawyers, accountants, etc.) in 190 countries who deal with business regulations in their day-to-day work. These individuals interact with the Doing Business team in conference calls, written correspondence, and visits by the global team. For the 2017 report, team members visited 34 economies to verify data and to recruit respondents. Data from the survey is subjected to several rounds of verification. The surveys are not a statistical sample, and the results are interpreted and cross-checked for consistency before being included in the report. Results are also validated with the relevant government before publication. Respondents fill out written surveys and provide references to the relevant laws, regulations, and fees based on standardized case scenarios with specific assumptions, such as the business being located in the largest business city of the economy.[4]

A nation's ranking on the index is based on the average of 10 subindices:

  • Starting a business – Procedures, time, cost, and minimum capital to open a new business
  • Dealing with construction permits – Procedures, time, and cost to build a warehouse
  • Getting electricity – procedures, time, and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse
  • Registering property – Procedures, time, and cost to register commercial real estate
  • Getting credit – Strength of legal rights index, depth of credit information index
  • Protecting investors – Indices on the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability, and ease of shareholder suits
  • Paying taxes – Number of taxes paid, hours per year spent preparing tax returns, and total tax payable as share of gross profit
  • Trading across borders – Number of documents, cost, and time necessary to export and import
  • Enforcing contracts – Procedures, time, and cost to enforce a debt contract
  • Resolving insolvency – The time, cost, and recovery rate (%) under bankruptcy proceeding

The Doing Business project also offers information on following datasets:

  • Distance to frontier – Shows the distance of each economy to the "frontier," which represents the highest performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies included since each indicator was included in Doing Business
  • Entrepreneurship – Measures entrepreneurial activity. The data is collected directly from 130 company registrars on the number of newly registered firms over the past seven years
  • Good practices – Provide insights into how governments have improved the regulatory environment in the past in the areas measured by Doing Business
  • Transparency in business regulation – Data on the accessibility of regulatory information measures how easy it is to access fee schedules for 4 regulatory processes in the largest business city of an economy

For example, according to the Doing Business (DB) 2013 report, Canada ranked third on the first subindex "Starting a business" behind only New Zealand and Australia. In Canada there is 1 procedure required to start a business which takes on average 5 days to complete. The official cost is 0.4% of the gross national income per capita. There is no minimum capital requirement. By contrast, in Chad which ranked among the worst (181st out of 185) on this same subindex, there are 9 procedures required to start a business taking 62 days to complete. The official cost is 202% of the gross national income per capita. A minimum capital investment of 289.4% of the gross national income per capita is required.

While fewer and simpler regulations often imply higher rankings, this is not always the case. Protecting the rights of creditors and investors, as well as establishing or upgrading property and credit registries, may mean that more regulation is needed.

In most indicators, the case study refers to a small domestically-owned manufacturing company—hence the direct relevance of the indicators to foreign investors and large companies is limited. DB uses a simple averaging approach for weighing sub-indicators and calculating rankings. A detailed explanation of every indicator can be found through the DB website, and a .xls archive that simulates reforms.

Some caveats regarding the rankings and main information presented have to be considered by every user of the report. Mainly:

  • Doing Business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firm or investors, such as the macroeconomic conditions, or the level of employment, corruption, stability or poverty, in every country.
  • Doing Business does not consider the strengths and weaknesses of neither the global financial system, nor the financial system of every country. It also doesn't consider the state of the finances of the government of every country.
  • Doing Business does not cover all the regulation, or all the regulatory requirements. Other types of regulation such as financial market, environment, or intellectual property regulations that are relevant for the private sector are not considered.

The Doing Business report is not intended as a complete assessment of competitiveness or of the business environment of a country and should rather be considered as a proxy of the regulatory framework faced by the private sector in a country.

History

The Doing Business report has its origins in a paper first published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics by Simeon Djankov, Rafael La Porta, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes and Andrei Shleifer called "The Regulation of Entry" in 2002. The paper presented data on the regulation of entry of start-up firms in 85 countries covering the number of procedures, official time and official cost that a start-up must bear before it could operate legally. The main findings of the paper were that: "Countries with heavier regulation of entry have higher corruption and larger unofficial economies, but no better quality of public or private goods. Countries with more democratic and limited governments have lighter regulation of entry." The paper became widely known because it provided quantitative evidence that entry regulation benefits politicians and bureaucrats without adding value to the private sector, or granting any additional protection.[5]

Several countries have launched reforms to improve their rankings.[6][7] These efforts are motivated to a great scope by the fact that the World Bank Group publishes the data, and hence coverage by the media and the private sector every year. Also, Doing Business highlights every year the successful reforms carried out by each country. Since The Regulation of Entry was published, Simeon Djankov and Andrei Shleifer have published eight other academic studies, one for each set of indicators covered by the report.

In 2013, Doing Business covered regulations measured from June 2011 through May 2012. Over the previous decade, the reports recorded nearly 2,000 regulatory reforms implemented by 180 economies.

  • Poland was the global top improver in the past year. It enhanced the ease of doing business through four institutional or regulatory reforms, making it easier to register property, pay taxes, enforce contracts, and resolve insolvency.
  • Worldwide, 108 economies implemented 201 regulatory reforms in 2011/12 making it easier to do business as measured by Doing Business. Reform efforts globally have focused on making it easier to start a new business, increasing the efficiency of tax administration and facilitating trade across international borders. Of the 201 regulatory reforms recorded in the past year, 44% focused on these 3 policy areas alone.
  • Singapore topped the global ranking on the ease of doing business for the seventh consecutive year, followed by Hong Kong SAR; New Zealand; the United States; and Denmark. Georgia was a new entrant to the top 10.

In 2014 Doing Business covered regulations measured from June 2012 through May 2013 in 189 economies.

  • Singapore is the first economy of the global ranking followed by Hong Kong SAR, New Zealand, the United States, Denmark, Malaysia, South Korea, Georgia, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
  • For the first time data about Libya, Myanmar, San Marino, and South Sudan were collected.
  • 114 economies adopted 238 regulatory reforms in 2012/13 (the reforms increased of 18% compared to the previous year).

In 2015, Doing Business covered regulations measured from June 2013 through June 2014 in 189 economies.[8] For the first time this year, Doing Business collected data for 2 cities in 11 economies with more than 100 million inhabitants. These economies include: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, and the United States. The added city enables a sub-national comparison and benchmarking against other large cities.

Research and influence

More than 3,000 academic papers have used data from the index.[9] The effect of improving regulations on economic growth is claimed to be very strong. Moving from the worst one-fourth of nations to the best one-fourth implies a 2.3 percentage point increase in annual growth. Another 7,000 working papers in economics and social science departments use the data from the Doing Business report. The 2016 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics Oliver Hart (economist) is among the authors of such papers.

The various sub-components of the index in themselves provide concrete suggestions for improvement. Many of them may be relatively easy to implement and uncontroversial (except perhaps among corrupt officials who may gain from onerous regulations requiring bribes to bypass). As such, the index has influenced many nations to improve their regulations. Several have explicitly targeted to reach a minimum position on the index, for example the top 25 list.

Somewhat similar annual reports are the Indices of Economic Freedom and the Global Competitiveness Report. They, especially the latter, look at many more factors that affect economic growth, like inflation and infrastructure. These factors may however be more subjective and diffuse since many are measured using surveys and they may be more difficult to change quickly compared to regulations.

A November 2017 EconTalk podcast explains the lasting influence in academia and policy circles of the Doing Business report.

Doing Business Report

The Doing Business Report (DB) is an annually published report which was developed by a team led by Djankov in 2003. It has been elaborated by the World Bank Group since 2003 every year that is aimed to measure the costs to firms of business regulations in 190 countries. The study has become one of the flagship knowledge products of the World Bank Group in the field of private sector development, and is claimed to have motivated the design of several regulatory reforms in developing countries. The study presents every year a detailed analysis of costs, requirements and procedures a specific type of private firm is subject in all countries, and then, creates rankings for every country. The study is also backed up by broad communication efforts, and by creating rankings, the study spotlights countries and leaders that are promoting reforms.[10]

The DB has been widely known and used by academics, policy-makers, politicians, development experts, journalists, and the business community to highlight red tape and promote reforms. As stated by the IEG study from the World Bank:

“For country authorities, it sheds a bright, sometimes unflattering, light on regulatory aspects of their business climate. For business interests, it has helped to catalyze debates and dialogue about reform. For the World Bank Group, it demonstrates an ability to provide global knowledge, independent of resource transfer and conditionality. The annual exercise generates information that is relevant and useful.”

According to the DB, regulation does matter for the development of the private sectors, and several reforms are suggested across the report in order to promote the development of the private sector and enable the business environment. Some highlighted findings of the DB are:

Contents

In 2017, the study contains quantitative measures of regulations for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, getting an electricity connection, and closing a business. As stated in the introduction of the study, "A fundamental premise of DB is that economic activity requires good rules. These include rules that establish and clarify property rights and reduce the costs of resolving disputes, rules that increase the predictability of economic interactions, and rules that provide contractual partners with core protections against abuse."

Evaluation

Doing Business is a controversial study, with passionate critics and devoted fans. As recognized by the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank, some have questioned the reliability and objectivity of its measurements while others doubt the relevance of the issues it addresses or fear it may unduly dominate countries reform agendas at the expense of more crucial development objectives. Attention given to the indicators may inadvertently signal that the World Bank Group values less burdensome business regulations more highly than its other strategies for poverty reduction and sustainable development.

According to Snodgrass, several limitations are present in the DB studies and have to be kept in mind when using the study:

  • The indicators and measures are referred to the costs, requirements, and fees of doing business in the country's largest business city; thus conditions elsewhere within the country may differ.
  • To achieve cross-country standardization respondents are asked to give estimates for a limited liability company of a specific size.[vague] Costs for other forms and scales of businesses may differ.
  • Transactions and fees to be cost out are very specifically defined. The costs of other types of transactions may differ.
  • The cost estimates come from individuals identified as expert respondents. Sometimes the estimates given by such individuals may differ with other experts and with public officials. If so, the responses are cross-checked for consistency.
  • The estimates assume that a business knows what is required and does not waste time. Satisfying regulatory requirements will obviously take longer if the business lacks information or is unable to follow up promptly. A related point here is that DB may not understand "work-arounds", "facilitating fees", and "learning time" that speed or delay approvals and causes variation costs.

Published now for seventeen years, the DB has originated a growing body of research on how performance on DB indicators, and reforms generated by the reports, related to specific development desirable outcomes. As stated by the DB 2010, about "405 articles have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals, and about 1143 working papers are available through Google Scholar".

The DB has acknowledged the limitation of getting data from one city to give information and a ranking valid for all the country. Several regional and sub-national studies have been carried out using the Doing Business methodology to assess variations within countries and regions across different cities, including sub-national studies for countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, and regional studies for the Caribbean, the Arab World, Bulgaria, and other south eastern European countries. All studies are available from the DB website.

DB has been widely used as a study to measure competitiveness. However, regulation rather than competitiveness is the main objective in the DB. Other studies that are also used to measure competitiveness and recognized as business enabling environment ranking systems are the Global Competitiveness Index, the Index of Economic Freedom, and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, among others.[11]

2018 manipulation scandal

On 12 January 2018, Paul Romer, the World Bank's chief economist, announced that past releases of the index would be corrected and recalculated going back at least four years. Romer apologised to Chile, saying that the former director of the group responsible for the index had repeatedly manipulated its methodology, unfairly penalising the country's rankings during the administration of left-wing President Michelle Bachelet. In response, Bachelet announced that Chile would formally request a complete investigation by the World Bank.[12][13]

Ranking

The most recent rankings come from the "Doing Business 2020" report. Ranking of economies was introduced in the "Doing Business 2006" report.[14]

New Zealand has topped the Ease of Doing Business rankings in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Singapore topped the Ease of Doing Business rankings in 2007–2016.[15] Based on Singapore's experience, IDA International is collaborating with public agencies in several countries in the areas such as ICT strategy, national infocomm planning and solutions implementation that can help increase the ease of doing business. One interesting fact is that although richer countries on average are ranked higher than poor countries, there are some remarkable exceptions, particularly oil-rich countries. For example: Kuwait (ranked 83), Qatar (ranked 77), Oman (ranked 68) Saudi Arabia (ranked 62). Compare to lower income countries: India (ranked 63), Kenya (ranked 56), Colombia (ranked 67), Uzbekistan (ranked 69). Notable exceptions are Norway (ranked 9) and the United Arab Emirates (ranked 16).[16]

Classification Jurisdiction 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
Very Easy  New Zealand 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1
Very Easy  Singapore 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
Very Easy  Hong Kong 3 4 5 4 5 3 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 5 7
Very Easy  Denmark 4 3 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 6 6 5 5 7 8
Very Easy  South Korea 5 5 4 5 4 5 7 8 8 16 19 23 30 23 27
Very Easy  United States 6 8 6 8 7 7 4 4 4 5 4 3 3 3 3
Very Easy  Georgia 7 6 9 16 24 15 8 9 16 12 11 15 18 37 100
Very Easy  United Kingdom 8 9 7 7 6 8 10 7 7 4 5 6 6 6 9
Very Easy  Norway 9 7 8 6 9 6 9 6 6 8 10 10 11 9 5
Very Easy  Sweden 10 12 10 9 8 11 14 13 14 14 18 17 14 13 14
Very Easy  Lithuania 11 14 16 21 20 24 17 27 27 23 26 28 26 16 15
Very Easy  Malaysia 12 15 24 23 18 18 6 12 18 21 23 20 24 25 21
Very Easy  Mauritius 13 20 25 49 32 28 20 19 23 20 17 24 27 32 23
Very Easy  Australia 14 18 14 15 13 10 11 10 15 10 9 9 9 8 6
Very Easy  Taiwan 15 13 15 11 11 19 16 16 25 33 46 61 50 47 35
Very Easy  United Arab Emirates 16 11 21 26 31 22 23 26 33 40 33 46 68 77 69
Very Easy  North Macedonia 17 10 11 10 12 30 25 23 22 38 32 71 75 92 81
Very Easy  Estonia 18 16 12 12 16 17 22 21 24 17 24 22 17 17 16
Very Easy  Latvia 19 19 19 14 22 23 24 25 21 24 27 29 22 24 26
Very Easy  Finland 20 17 13 13 10 9 12 11 11 13 16 14 13 14 13
Very Easy  Thailand 21 27 26 46 49 26 18 18 17 19 12 13 15 18 20
Very Easy  Germany 22 24 20 17 15 14 21 20 19 22 25 25 20 21 19
Very Easy  Canada 23 22 18 22 14 16 19 17 13 7 8 8 7 4 4
Very Easy  Ireland 24 23 17 18 17 13 15 15 10 9 7 7 8 10 11
Very Easy  Kazakhstan 25 28 36 35 41 77 50 49 47 59 63 70 71 63 86
Very Easy  Iceland 26 21 23 20 19 12 13 14 9 15 14 11 10 12 12
Very Easy  Austria 27 26 22 19 21 21 30 29 32 32 28 27 25 30 32
Very Easy  Russia 28 31 35 40 51 62 92 112 120 123 120 120 106 96 79
Very Easy  Japan 29 39 34 34 34 29 27 24 20 18 15 12 12 11 10
Very Easy  Spain 30 30 28 32 33 33 52 44 44 49 62 49 38 39 30
Very Easy  China 31 46 78 78 84* 90 96 91 91 79 89 83 83 93 91
Very Easy  France 32 32 31 29 27 31 38 34 29 26 31 31 31 35 44
Very Easy  Turkey 33 43 60 69 55 55 69 71 71 65 73 59 57 91 93
Very Easy  Azerbaijan 34 25 57 65 63 80 70 67 66 54 38 33 96 99 98
Very Easy  Israel 35 49 54 52 53 40 35 38 34 29 29 30 29 26 29
Very Easy   Switzerland 36 38 33 31 26 20 29 28 26 27 21 21 16 15 17
Very Easy  Slovenia 37 40 37 30 29* 51 33 35 37 42 53 54 55 61 63
Very Easy  Rwanda 38 29 41 56 62 46 32 52 45 58 67 139 150 158 139
Very Easy  Portugal 39 34 29 25 23 25 31 30 30 31 48 48 37 40 42
Very Easy  Poland 40 33 27 24 25 32 45 55 62 70 72 76 74 75 54
Very Easy  Czech Republic 41 35 30 27 36 44 75 65 64 63 74 75 56 52 41
Very Easy  Netherlands 42 36 32 28 28 27 28 31 31 30 30 26 21 22 24
Very Easy  Bahrain 43 62 66 63 65 53 46 42 38 28 20 18 — — —
Very Easy  Serbia 44 48 43 48 59 91 93 86 92 89 88 94 86 68 92**
Very Easy  Slovakia 45 42 39 33 29* 37 49 46 48 41 42 36 32 36 37
Very Easy  Belgium 46 45 52 42 43 42 36 33 28 25 22 19 19 20 18
Very Easy  Armenia 47 41 47 38 35 45 37 32 55 48 43 44 39 34 46
Very Easy  Moldova 48 47 44 44 52 63 78 83 81 90 94 103 92 103 83
Very Easy  Belarus 49 37 38 37 44 57 63 58 69 68 58 85 110 129 106
Very Easy  Montenegro 50 50 42 51 46 36 44 51 56 66 71 90 81 70 92**
Very Easy  Croatia 51 58 51 43 40 65 89 84 80 84 103 106 97 124 118
Very Easy  Hungary 52 53 48 41 42 54 54 54 51 46 47 41 45 66 52
Very Easy  Morocco 53 60 69 68 75 71 87 97 94 114 128 128 129 115 102
Easy  Cyprus 54 57 53 45 47 64 39 36 40 37 40 — — — —
Easy  Romania 55 52 45 36 37 48 73 72 72 56 55 47 48 49 78
Easy  Kenya 56 61 80 92 108 136 129 121 109 98 95 82 72 83 68
Easy  Kosovo 57 44 40 60 66 75 86 98 117 119 113 — — — —
Easy  Italy 58 51 46 50 45 56 65 73 87 80 78 65 53 82 70
Easy  Chile 59 56 55 57 48 41 34 37 39 43 49 40 33 28 25
Easy  Mexico 60 54 49 47 38* 39 53 48 53 35 51 56 44 43 73
Easy  Bulgaria 61 59 50 39 38* 38 58 66 59 51 44 45 46 54 62
Easy  Saudi Arabia 62 92 92 94 82 49 26 22 12 11 13 16 23 38 38
Easy  India 63 77 100 130 130 142 134 132 132 134 133 122 120 134 116
Easy  Ukraine 64 71 76 80 83 96 112 137 152 145 142 145 139 128 124
Easy  Puerto Rico 65 64 64 55 57 47 40 41 43 47 35 35 28 19 22
Easy  Brunei 66 55 56 72 84* 101 59 79 83 112 96 88 78 — —
Easy  Colombia 67 65 59 53 54 34 43 45 42 39 37 53 66 79 66
Easy  Oman 68 78 71 66 70 66 47 47 49 57 65 57 49 55 51
Easy  Uzbekistan 69 76 74 87 87 141 146 154 166 150 150 138 138 147 138
Easy  Vietnam 70 69 68 82 90 78 99 99 98 78 93 92 91 104 99
Easy  Jamaica 71 75 70 67 64 58 94 90 88 81 75 63 63 50 43
Easy  Luxembourg 72 66 63 59 61 59 60 56 50 45 64 50 42 — —
Easy  Indonesia 73 73 72 91 109 114 120 128 129 121 122 129 123 135 115
Easy  Costa Rica 74 67 61 62 58 83 102 110 121 125 121 117 115 105 89
Easy  Jordan 75 104 103 118 113 117 119 106 96 111 100 101 80 78 74
Easy  Peru 76 68 58 54 50 35 42 43 41 36 56 62 58 65 71
Easy  Qatar 77 83 83 83 68 50 48 40 36 50 39 37 — — —
Easy  Tunisia 78 80 88 77 74 60 51 50 46 55 69 73 88 80 58
Easy  Greece 79 72 67 61 60 61 72 78 100 109 109 96 100 109 80
Easy  Kyrgyzstan 80 70 77 75 67 102 68 70 70 44 41 68 94 90 84
Easy  Mongolia 81 74 62 64 56 72 76 76 86 73 60 58 52 45 61
Easy  Albania 82 63 65 58 97* 68 90 85 82 82 82 86 136 120 117
Easy  Kuwait 83 97 96 102 101* 86 104 82 67 74 61 52 40 46 47
Easy  South Africa 84 82 82 74 73 43 41 39 35 34 34 32 35 29 28
Easy  Zambia 85 87 85 98 97* 111 83 94 84 76 90 100 116 102 67
Easy  Panama 86 79 79 70 69 52 55 61 61 72 77 81 65 81 57
Easy  Botswana 87 86 81 71 72 74 56 59 54 52 45 38 51 48 40
Easy  Malta 88 84 84 76 80 94 103 102 — — — — — — —
Easy  Bhutan 89 81 75 73 71 125 141 148 142 142 126 124 119 138 104
Easy  Bosnia and Herzegovina 90 89 86 81 79 107 131 126 125 110 116 119 105 95 87
Easy  El Salvador 91 85 73 95 86 109 118 113 112 86 84 72 69 71 76
Easy  San Marino 92 88 93 79 76 93 81 — — — — — — — —
Easy  Saint Lucia 93 93 91 86 77 100 64 53 52 53 36 34 34 27 —
Easy    Nepal 94 110 105 107 99 108 105 108 107 116 123 121 111 100 55
Easy  Philippines 95 124 113 99 103 95 108 138 136 148 144 140 133 126 113
Easy  Guatemala 96 98 97 88 81 73 79 93 97 101 110 112 114 118 109
Easy  Togo 97 137 156 154 150 149 157 156 162 160 165 163 156 151 149
Medium  Samoa 98 90 87 89 96 67 61 57 60 61 57 64 61 41 39
Medium  Sri Lanka 99 100 111 110 107 99 85 81 89 102 105 102 101 89 75
Medium  Seychelles 100 96 95 93 95 85 80 74 103 95 111 104 90 84 —
Medium  Uruguay 101 95 94 90 92 82 88 89 90 124 114 109 98 64 85
Medium  Fiji 102 101 101 97 88* 81 62 60 77 62 54 39 36 31 34
Medium  Tonga 103 91 89 85 78 69 57 62 58 71 52 43 47 51 36
Medium  Namibia 104 107 106 109 101* 88 98 87 78 69 66 51 43 42 33
Medium  Trinidad and Tobago 105 105 102 96 88* 79 66 69 68 97 81 80 67 59 —
Medium  Tajikistan 106 126 123 128 132 166 143 141 147 139 152 159 153 133 —
Medium  Vanuatu 107 94 90 84 94 76 74 80 76 60 59 60 62 58 49
Medium  Pakistan 108 136 147 144 138 128* 110 107 105 83 85 77 76 74 60
Medium  Malawi 109 111 110 133 141 164 171 157 145 133 132 134 127 110 96
Medium  Côte d'Ivoire 110 122 139 142 142 147 167 177 167 169 168 161 155 141 145
Medium  Dominica 111 103 98 101 91 97* 77 68 65 88 83 74 77 72 —
Medium  Djibouti 112 99 154 171 171 155 160 171 170 158 163 153 146 161 —
Medium  Antigua and Barbuda 113 112 107 113 104 89 71 63 57 64 50 42 41 33 —
Medium  Egypt 114 120 128 122 131 112 128 109 110 94 106 114 126 165 141
Medium  Dominican Republic 115 102 99 103 93 84 117 116 108 91 86 97 99 117 103
Medium  Uganda 116 127 122 115 122 150 132 120 123 122 112 111 118 107 72
Medium  Palestine 117 116 114 140 129 143 138 135 131 135 139 131 117 127 125
Medium  Ghana 118 114 120 108 114* 70 67 64 63 67 92 87 87 94 82
Medium  Bahamas 119 118 119 121 106 97* 84 77 85 77 68 55 — — —
Medium  Papua New Guinea 120 108 109 119 145 133 113 104 101 103 102 95 84 57 64
Medium  Eswatini 121 117 112 111 105 110 123 123 124 118 115 108 95 76 —
Medium  Lesotho 122 106 104 100 114* 128* 136 136 143 138 130 123 124 114 97
Medium  Senegal 123 141 140 147 153 161 178 166 154 152 157 149 162 146 132
Medium  Brazil 124 109 125 123 116 120 116 130 126 127 129 125 122 121 119
Medium  Paraguay 125 113 108 106 100 92 109 103 102 106 124 115 103 112 88
Medium  Argentina 126 119 117 116 121 124 126 124 113 115 118 113 109 101 77
Medium  Iran 127 128 124 120 118 130 152 145 144 129 137 142 135 119 108
Medium  Barbados 128 129 132 117 119 106 91 88 — — — — — — —
Medium  Ecuador 129 123 118 114 117 115 135 139 130 130 138 136 128 123 107
Medium  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 130 130 129 125 111 103 82 75 75 75 70 66 54 85 —
Medium  Nigeria 131 146 145 169 169 170 147 131 133 137 125 118 108 108 94
Medium  Niger 132 143 144 150 160 168 176 176 173 173 174 172 169 160 150
Medium  Honduras 133 121 115 105 110 104* 127 125 128 131 141 133 121 111 112
Medium  Guyana 134 134 126 124 137 123 115 114 114 100 101 105 104 136 105
Medium  Belize 135 125 121 112 120 118 106 105 93 99 80 78 59 56 —
Medium  Solomon Islands 136 115 116 104 112 87 97 92 74 96 104 89 79 69 53
Medium  Cape Verde 137 131 127 129 126 122 121 122 119 132 146 143 132 125 —
Medium  Mozambique 138 135 138 137 133 127 139 146 139 126 135 141 134 140 110
Medium  Saint Kitts and Nevis 139 140 134 134 124 121 101 96 95 87 76 67 64 44 —
Medium  Zimbabwe 140 155 159 161 155 171 170 173 171 157 159 158 152 153 126
Medium  Tanzania 141 144 137 132 139 131 145 134 127 128 131 127 130 142 140
Medium  Nicaragua 142 132 131 127 125 119 124 119 118 117 117 107 93 67 59
Medium  Lebanon 143 142 133 126 123 104* 111 115 104 113 108 99 85 86 95
Medium  Cambodia 144 138 135 131 127 135 137 133 138 147 145 135 145 143 133
Medium  Palau 145 133 130 136 136 113 100 111 116 120 97 91 82 62 —
Medium  Grenada 146 147 142 138 135 126 107 100 73 92 91 84 70 73 —
Medium  Maldives 147 139 136 135 128 116 95 95 79 85 87 69 60 53 31
Below Average  Mali 148 145 143 141 143* 146 155 151 146 153 156 166 158 155 146
Below Average  Benin 149 153 151 155 158 151 174 175 175 170 172 169 151 137 129
Below Average  Bolivia 150 156 152 149 157 157 162 155 153 149 161 150 140 131 111
Below Average  Burkina Faso 151 151 148 146 143* 167 154 153 150 151 147 148 161 163 154
Below Average  Mauritania 152 148 150 160 168 176 173 167 159 165 166 160 157 148 127
Below Average  Marshall Islands 153 150 149 143 140 139 114 101 106 108 98 93 89 87 48
Below Average  Laos 154 154 141 139 134 148 159 163 165 171 167 165 164 159 147
Below Average  Gambia 155 149 146 145 151 138 150 147 149 146 140 130 131 113 —
Below Average  Guinea 156 152 153 163 165 169 175 178 179 179 173 171 166 157 144
Below Average  Algeria 157 157 166 156 163 154 153 152 148 136 136 132 125 116 128
Below Average  Micronesia 158 160 155 151 148 145 156 150 140 141 127 126 112 106 56
Below Average  Ethiopia 159 159 161 159 146 132 125 127 111 104 107 116 102 97 101
Below Average  Comoros 160 164 158 153 154 159 158 158 157 159 162 155 146 144 —
Below Average  Madagascar 161 161 162 167 164 163 148 142 137 140 134 144 149 149 131
Below Average  Suriname 162 165 165 158 156 162 161 164 158 161 155 146 142 122 —
Below Average  Sierra Leone 163 163 160 148 147 140 142 140 141 143 148 156 160 168 136
Below Average  Kiribati 164 158 157 152 149 134 122 117 115 93 79 79 73 60 45
Below Average  Myanmar 165 172 171 170 167 177 182 — — — — — — — —
Below Average  Burundi 166 168 164 157 152 152 140 159 169 181 176 177 174 166 143
Below Average  Cameroon 167 166 163 166 172 158 168 161 161 168 171 164 154 152 130
Below Average  Bangladesh 168 176 177 176 174 173 130 129 122 107 119 110 107 88 65
Below Average  Gabon 169 169 167 164 162 144 163 170 156 156 158 151 144 132 —
Below Average  São Tomé and Príncipe 170 170 169 162 166 153 169 160 163 178 180 176 163 169 123
Below Average  Sudan 171 162 170 168 159 160 149 143 135 154 154 147 143 154 151
Below Average  Iraq 172 171 168 165 161 156 151 165 164 166 153 152 141 145 114
Below Average  Afghanistan 173 167 183 183 177 183 164 168 160 167 160 162 159 162 122
Below Average  Guinea-Bissau 174 175 176 172 178 179 180 179 176 176 181 179 176 173 —
Below Average  Liberia 175 174 172 174 179 174 144 149 151 155 149 157 170 — —
Below Average  Syria 176 179 174 173 175 175 165 144 134 144 143 137 137 130 121
Below Average  Angola 177 173 175 182 181 181 179 172 172 163 169 168 167 156 135
Below Average  Equatorial Guinea 178 177 173 178 180 165 166 162 155 164 170 165 165 150 —
Below Average  Haiti 179 182 181 181 182 180 177 174 174 162 151 154 148 139 134
Below Average  Congo 180 180 179 177 176 178 185 183 181 177 179 178 175 171 148
Below Average  Timor Leste 181 178 178 175 173 172 172 169 168 174 164 170 168 174 142
Below Average  Chad 182 181 180 180 183 185 189 184 183 183 178 175 173 172 152
Below Average  Democratic Republic of Congo 183 184 182 184 184 184 183 181 178 175 182 181 178 175 155
Below Average  Central African Republic 184 183 184 185 185 187 188 185 182 182 183 180 177 167 153
Below Average  South Sudan 185 185 187 186 187 186 186 — — — — — — — —
Below Average  Libya 186 186 185 188 188 188 187 — — — — — — — —
Below Average  Yemen 187 187 186 179 170 137 133 118 99 105 99 98 113 98 90
Below Average  Venezuela 188 188 188 187 186 182 181 180 177 172 177 174 172 164 120
Below Average  Eritrea 189 189 189 189 189 189 184 182 180 180 175 173 171 170 137
Below Average  Somalia 190 190 190 190 — — — — — — — — — — —

* – same rank is for multiple jurisdictions
** – the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Note: Rankings at time of annual report publication. Rankings are subject to revision.

Criticism

The Doing Business methodology regarding labor regulations was criticized by the International Trade Union Confederation because it favored flexible employment regulations.[17] In early reports, the easier it was to dismiss a worker for economic reasons in a country, the more its rankings improved. The Employing Workers index was revised in Doing Business 2008 to be in full compliance with the 188 International Labour Organization conventions. It has subsequently been removed from the rankings. The ITUC debuted the Global Rights Index in 2014 as a response to the Doing Business report.[18]

In 2008 the World Bank Group's Independent Evaluation Group, a semi-independent watchdog within the World Bank Group, published an evaluation of the Doing Business index.[19] The report, Doing Business: An Independent Evaluation, contained both praise and criticism of Doing Business. The report recommended that the index be clearer about what is and is not measured, disclose changes to published data, recruit more informants, and simplify the Paying Taxes indicator.

In April 2009 the World Bank issued a note with revisions to the Employing Workers index.[20] The note explained that scoring for the "Employing Workers" indicator would be updated in Doing Business 2010 to give favorable scores for complying with relevant ILO conventions. The Employing Workers indicator was also removed as a guidepost for Country Policy and Institutional Assessments, which help determine resources provided to IDA countries.

A study commissioned by the Norwegian government alleges methodological weaknesses, an uncertainty in the ability of the indicators to capture the underlying business climate, and a general worry that many countries may find it easier to change their ranking in Doing Business than to change the underlying business environment.[21]

In 2013, an independent panel appointed by the President of the World Bank and headed by Trevor Manuel of South Africa, issued a review expressing concern about the potential for the report and index to be misinterpreted, and the narrowness of the indicators and information base. It recommended that the report be retained, but that the aggregate rankings be removed and that a peer-review process be implemented (among other things). Regarding the topics of Paying Taxes and Employing Workers, it noted that "The latter has already been excluded from the report's rankings. While there is a persuasive case for paying attention to these aspects of doing business, the Bank will need to carefully consider the correct way to assess the regulation and legal environment of these areas if these indicators are to be retained."[22]

In 2018, another independent evaluation was commissioned by the World Bank Group. The evaluation praised the Doing Business report for its objectivity and focus on regulatory reform.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Doing Business - Measuring Business Regulations - World Bank Group". Doing Business. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Doing Business report series – World Bank Group". Doingbusiness.org. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  3. ^ Ease of doing business, Page 111.
  4. ^ a b "Improvements made to methodology this year - Doing Business - World Bank Group". www.doingbusiness.org. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  5. ^ Djankov, Simeon, et al., "The Regulation of Entry", The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol.CXVII February 2002, Issue I
  6. ^ "Time to make in India?". The Economist. 25 September 2014. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Ranking the rankings". The Economist. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Doing Business 2015, World Bank. Published: October 29, 2014".
  9. ^ "Doing Business and related research - World Bank Group". Doingbusiness.org. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  10. ^ World Bank: "Doing Business 2010", World Bank Group, 2010, U.S.A.
  11. ^ Snodgrass, Sonald, "Alternative Business Enabling Environment Rankings. A Review", USAID / Business Growth Initiative, USAID
  12. ^ "Chile slams World Bank for bias in competitiveness rankings". Reuters. 2018.
  13. ^ Zumbrun, Josh; Talley, Ian (12 January 2018). "World Bank Unfairly Influenced Its Own Competitiveness Rankings". Wall Street Journal.
  14. ^ "Doing Business 2018 - Equal Opportunity for All - World Bank Group". www.doingbusiness.org.
  15. ^ "Singapore Tops World Bank Survey". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  16. ^ "Rankings". World Bank. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  17. ^ "ITUC-CSI-IGB – International Trade Union Confederation". Ituc-csi.org. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  18. ^ Tamara Gausi (21 May 2014). New Global Index Elevates Workers' Rights over "Doing Business". Equal Times. Retrieved 30 May 2014; see also: ITUC Global Rights Index: The world's worst countries for workers.
  19. ^ "Doing Business – Doing Business: An Independent Evaluation". Web.worldbank.org. 26 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  20. ^ "EWI Revisions". Doingbusiness.org. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  21. ^ "Be careful when Doing Business" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  22. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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