Benchmarking as a Development Tool: Promoting Better Business Regulation in EU Candidate and Potential Candidate Countries

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Benchmarking as a Development Tool Promoting
Better Business Regulation in EU Candidate and
Potential Candidate Countries
Augusto Lopez Claros Director Global Indicators
Analysis November 22, Brussels
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(No Transcript)
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ProposalInvestment Climate Indicators in EU
Candidate and Potential Candidate Countries
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Deliverables

• Data dashboard
• To track performance over time
• At the national level
• At the subnational level (municipal and state)
• At the regional level
• To spur competition for reform
• To promote transparency
• Period regional, national and subnational reports
• To compare primary micro level data
• Over time
• Across a number of locations in the same country
• Across countries/regions

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Subnational Doing BusinessInvesting Across
BordersWomen, Business and the LawEnterprise
Surveys
Building Blocks
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Doing Business in South East Europe

• Doing Business in South East Europe 2008
• Created a baseline for 15 subnational cities in
  addition to the 7 cities representing their
  respective economies in the annual report
• Doing Business in South East Europe 2011
• Updates benchmarks for 18 cities in 6 economies
  (all but Croatia) previously measured
• Tracks business reforms in these cities
• Adds a new economy (Moldova) and 4 new
  cities from Albania, FYR Macedonia and Moldova
  (Eastern Neighborhood)

8 economies and 26 cities surveyed
MOLDOVA

• Both reports cover 4 indicators
• Starting a business
• Dealing with construction permits
• Registering property
• Enforcing contracts

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What are the key findings?

• Remarkable progress in regulatory reform across
  the region results in significant time and cost
  savings for entrepreneurs

• Skopje (FYR Macedonia) and Banja Luka (Bosnia and
  Herzegovina) most improved in the areas
  benchmarked
• No single city or economy outperforms the others
  in all areas
• The best overall improvement of the region is in
  the starting a business area
• Dealing with construction permits remains
  expensive in the region
• There is rich variation in performance by
  indicators across economies and even among cities
  within the same economy
• Cities can learn from existing good practices
  across the region to become more competitive
  nationally, regionally and globally

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South East Europes business entry averages
improved significantly
SEE Average 2008
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22.3
SEE Average 2011
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15
13
10
8
6
EU Average 2011
5.7
Skopje (FYR Macedonia)
3
3
1.5
Pljevlja (Montenegro)
Time (days)
Cost ( of GNI pc)
Procedures (number)
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Dealing with construction permits is expensive

• The number of procedures varies from 15 in
  Pljevlja and Skopje to 30 in Chisinau
• Pre-construction clearances take up the most
  time
• SEE is one of the most expensive regions in
  the world the average cost is 1,134 of income
  per capita

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Wide variation in property registration across
the region
Time (days)
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Ia. Doing Business in South East Europe 2013

• Measure progress over time
• Expand the subnational and regional analysis to
  cover other areas such as Paying Taxes,
  Trading across Borders, Getting Electricity
  and Closing a Business
• Support regional peer-to-peer learning events
  to disseminate good practices and motivate the
  replication of successful business reforms from
  the region and internationally

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Turkey and EU rankings on the ease of doing
business 2010/11
Indicator Worlds top ranked EUs top ranked Turkey
Starting a business New Zealand Ireland (13) 61
Dealing with construction permits Hong Kong SAR, China Denmark (10) 155
Registering property Saudi Arabia Lithuania (7) 44
Enforcing contracts Luxembourg Luxembourg (1) 51
EU accession countries average
Turkey
EU average
Ease of doing business
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Ib. Doing Business in Turkey 2012

• 7 regional centers
• Istanbul, Marmara
• Ankara, Central Anatolia
• Izmir, Aegean
• Mersin, Mediterranean
• Gaziantep, South-eastern Anatolia
• Malatya, Eastern Anatolia
• Samsun, Black Sea

• 4 Doing Business indicators
• Starting a business
• Dealing with construction permits
• Registering property
• Enforcing contracts

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II. Investing Across Borders (IAB) Overview
Overview Objectives
The IAB indicators focus on FDI regulation, and follow the Doing Business methodology for data collection. The first report on 87 economies was launched in July 2010 and a second report is planned for June 2012. IAB 2012 will cover 5 topics (see next slide) Respond to information requests for benchmarks on FDI regulations by governments, private sector, development partners and academics. Facilitate policy dialogue by identifying good practices and sharing of reform experiences Stimulate reforms Inform reform advisory work, research and analysis
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Topics of IAB 2012 (Proposed publication date
June 2012)
Investing across sectors Starting a foreign investment Hiring skilled expatriates Converting and transferring currency Arbitrating and mediating disputes
Foreign equity ownership restrictions in Primary sectors Mining, oil and gas agriculture and forestry Manufacturing Electronics food processing basic chemicals Services Telecommunications banking insurance transportation etc. Rules and process of starting a foreign business Land-related legal rights and information access Rules for Special Economic Zones (pilot/research section) Rules and process of employing skilled expatriates Process of appealing a rejected application for a work permit Rules and process for obtaining a spousal work permit Restrictions on the membership of the Board of Directors Rules for currency convertibility and repatriation Process of obtaining and servicing a foreign loan, and repatriating dividends Restrictions on holding bank accounts Strength of arbitration and mediation laws Strength of arbitration and mediation institutions Extent of judicial assistance Ease of arbitration process Ease of enforcement process
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IAB 2012 country coverage
EU member states EU candidates and potential candidates
Included in IABAustria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, United Kingdom Not included in IABBelgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden Included in IABAlbania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia FYR, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey Not included in IABIceland
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Sample bottlenecks IAB 2010 data in selected
economies
Economy Selected IAB indicators Economy score Economy score Highest global score Selected reform recommendations
Investing across sectors Investing across sectors Investing across sectors Investing across sectors Investing across sectors
Turkey Maximum foreign equity ownership allowed in Maximum foreign equity ownership allowed in Maximum foreign equity ownership allowed in Maximum foreign equity ownership allowed in Consider abolishing FDI ownership limits. Increase competition in strategic sectors. (See iab.worldbank.org for more specific information.)
Turkey - Electricity transmission and distribution - Electricity transmission and distribution 0 100 Consider abolishing FDI ownership limits. Increase competition in strategic sectors. (See iab.worldbank.org for more specific information.)
Turkey - Airlines and port operation - Airlines and port operation 49 100 Consider abolishing FDI ownership limits. Increase competition in strategic sectors. (See iab.worldbank.org for more specific information.)
Turkey - Television broadcasting - Television broadcasting 0 100 Consider abolishing FDI ownership limits. Increase competition in strategic sectors. (See iab.worldbank.org for more specific information.)
Starting a foreign business Starting a foreign business Starting a foreign business Starting a foreign business Starting a foreign business
Bosnia and Herzegovina Number of days to establish a foreign-owned subsidiary Number of days to establish a foreign-owned subsidiary 83 days 4 days Eliminate and/or simplify specific procedures. (See iab.worldbank.org for more specific information.)
Accessing industrial land Accessing industrial land Accessing industrial land Accessing industrial land Accessing industrial land
Bulgaria Time to lease public land (days) Time to lease public land (days) 351 20 - Streamline and regularize the process of leasing public land. (See iab.worldbank.org for more specific information.)
Montenegro Strength of lease rights index (0-100) Strength of lease rights index (0-100) 69.2 100 - Strengthen various investor lease rights. (See iab.worldbank.org for more specific information.)
Arbitrating commercial disputes Arbitrating commercial disputes Arbitrating commercial disputes Arbitrating commercial disputes Arbitrating commercial disputes
Albania Ease of arbitration process index (0-100) Ease of arbitration process index (0-100) 40.7 88.5 Strengthen investor rights and overall legal and institutional regime for arbitration. (See iab.worldbank.org for more specific information.)
Kosovo Extent of judicial assistance (0-100) Extent of judicial assistance (0-100) 27.5 98.8 Strengthen investor rights and overall legal and institutional regime for arbitration. (See iab.worldbank.org for more specific information.)
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III. Women, Business the Law (WBL) Topic Areas
Indicator Indicator Coverage
1 Accessing Institutions Explores womens legal ability to interact with public authorities and the private sector in the same way as men
2 Using Property Analyzes womens ability to access and use property based on their capacity to own, manage, control and inherit property.
3 Getting a Job Examines restrictions on womens working hours and industries work-related maternity , paternity and parental leave benefits and retirement and pensionable ages
4 Providing Incentives to Work Covers personal income tax liabilities, including credits and deductions available to women relative to men and examines public provisions of childcare and education
5 Building Credit Identifies minimum loan thresholds in private credit bureaus and registries that collect information from microfinance institutions
6 Going to Court Considers the ease and affordability of justice by examining womens access to small claims courts and womens capacity to file cases in a court of law

• Objective The Women, Business and the Law (WBL)
  dataset and report focuses on how easy or
  difficult is it for women to get jobs or start
  and run businesses. Using quantitative and
  objective data, it examines where laws
  differentiating between men and women way affect
  womens opportunities and incentives to work.

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What the WBL report measures

• Women, Business and the Law 2012 Indicators
• The report objectively measures legal gender
  differentiations in 141 economies worldwide
  within six categories

It does not capture the full extent of the gender
gap, nor does it indicate the relative importance
of each aspect covered.
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Gender disparities in Turkey as measured by WBL
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The gender gap in Turkey remains huge

• Turkey (ranked 122 out of 135 countries
  worldwide) occupies the last place among European
  countries in the Global Gender Gap 2011 report.
  The country performs particularly poorly in
  measures of political empowerment of women and
  variables which capture measures of economic
  participation and opportunity. In the latter
  category, Turkey ranks among the 10 worst
  performers in the world.

Source World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap
Report 2011
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IV. Enterprise Surveys the world's most
comprehensive company-level data

• The Business Environment and Enterprise
  Performance Surveys (BEEPs) generate indicators
  of the overall business environment including
  infrastructure, regulation, corruption, finance,
  labor practices, competition, etc.

Current coverage Proposed work program
EU countries (sample size)Bulgaria (270), Czech Republic (270), Estonia (270), Hungary (270), Latvia (270), Lithuania (270), Poland (540) , Romania (540) , Slovakia (270) , Slovenia (270) EU candidate countries (sample size)Croatia (360), FYR of Macedonia (360), Montenegro (150), Turkey (1320) Expand samples in main BEEPs Small follow-up modules (every 6 months) to measure effects of reforms and economic changes Incorporate other EU countries Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland.
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V. Synthesis report comparing the accession
countries to the EU and the rest of the world

• Analyze the 11 Doing Business (DB) indicators as
  well as the 5 Investing Across Borders (IAB)
  indicators and the 6 Women, Business the Law
  (WBL) indicators plus firm data from the
  Enterprise Surveys (ES)
• Provide an in-depth analysis of the business
  environment in the EU accession countries and
  their comparative performance vis-à-vis the 27 EU
  member countries and other selected countries
  (e.g. China, India, Brazil)
• Synthesis report brings 4 indicator groups into
  one package analyzing business environment from 3
  perspectives
• Domestic firms and entrepreneurs (DB ES)
• Foreign firms (IAB)
• Gender (WBL)

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VI. Economy profile and data dashboard

• Economy-specific report analyzing the business
  environment through 4 indicator sets
• Doing Business / subnational Doing Business
• Investing across Borders
• Women Business and the Law
• Enterprise Surveys

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• Doing Business in Turkey subnational DB study
  measuring the largest business centers from 7
  main regions of the country
• Investing Across Borders update
• Web-based dashboard and/or economy profiles

Proposed Timeline
2012

• Doing Business in South East Europe
  subnational DB study covering 7 economies and
  over 20 subnational cities
• Women Business and the Law update
• Synthesis report
• Web-based dashboard and/or economy profiles

2013
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Institutional arrangements and budget

• Initial 2-year agreement extendable for another
  7-year period
• Initial period 2012 - 2013
• Renewal period 2014 2020
• Cost estimates (2012 - 2013)

Component Resources ( in Euro) Output
I. Subnational Doing Business 1.6 million 2 reports Turkey and SEE
II. Investing Across Borders 0.8 million IAB data update
III. Women, Business the Law 0.5 million WBL data update
IV. Enterprise Surveys TBD Additional coverage
V. Synthesis report 0.4 million Regional report covering EU members and EU candidate countries
VI. Economy profiles or dashboard all indicators 0.2 million Web-based comparisons or economy profile reports
Total 3.5 million