Ease of doing business index

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:

• Lower barriers to start-up are associated with a smaller informal sector.
• Lower costs of entry encourage entrepreneurship, enhance firm productivity, and reduce corruption.
• Simple start-up translates into greater employment opportunities.

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. 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.

Related studies

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	N/A	N/A	N/A
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	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
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	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
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	N/A	N/A
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	N/A	N/A
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	N/A	N/A	N/A
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	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
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	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Easy	Saint Lucia	93	93	91	86	77	100	64	53	52	53	36	34	34	27	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
Medium	Tajikistan	106	126	123	128	132	166	143	141	147	139	152	159	153	133	N/A
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	N/A
Medium	Djibouti	112	99	154	171	171	155	160	171	170	158	163	153	146	161	N/A
Medium	Antigua and Barbuda	113	112	107	113	104	89	71	63	57	64	50	42	41	33	N/A
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	N/A	N/A	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
Medium	Grenada	146	147	142	138	135	126	107	100	73	92	91	84	70	73	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A
Below Average	Liberia	175	174	172	174	179	174	144	149	151	155	149	157	170	N/A	N/A
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	N/A
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	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Below Average	Libya	186	186	185	188	188	188	187	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
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	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

_* – 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

• Index of Economic Freedom
• List of countries by economic freedom
• Corruption Perceptions Index
• List of freedom indices
• Simeon Djankov

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. "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.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

• Official website
• List of Global Development Indexes and Rankings
• Sub-indices:
  • Starting a business
  • Dealing with construction permits
  • Getting electricity