7 0 0 g 2 n s i s o e
CO AR MP ING REG UL AT I ON
Doing Business 2007
THE WORLD BANK
IN
D sin u B t o r e fo r m
175
ECO
NO MIE S
0-8213-6488-X
B
E
G
How to reform
W
.D W W
G N I O
IN US
OR . S S
w o H
CO
7 0 0 g 2 n i o ess
AR MP ING REG UL AT I ON
D sin Bu to reform
IN
Ho
175
w
ECO NO MIE S A copublication of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation
© 2006 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone 202-473-1000 Internet www.worldbank.org E-mail
[email protected] All rights reserved. 1 2 3 4 5 09 08 07 06 A copublication of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.
This volume is a product of the staff of the World Bank Group. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank Group does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. Rights and Permissions The material in this publication is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. The World Bank Group encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly. For permission to photocopy or reprint any part of this work, please send a request with complete information to the Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA; telephone: 978-750-8400; fax: 978-750-4470; Internet: www.copyright.com. All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2422; e-mail:
[email protected] Additional copies of Doing Business 2007: How to Reform, Doing Business in 2006: Creating Jobs, Doing Business in 2005: Removing Obstacles to Growth, and Doing Business in 2004: Understanding Regulation may be purchased at www.doingbusiness.org.
ISBN-10: 0-8213-6488-X ISBN-13: 978-0-8213-6488-8 E-ISBN: 0-8213-6489-8 DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-6488-8 ISSN: 1729-2638 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data has been applied for.
Contents
Doing Business 2007: How to Reform is the fourth in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 175 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time. Regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business are measured: starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. The methodology has limitations. Other areas important to business—such as a country’s proximity to large markets, quality of infrastructure services (other than services related to trading across borders), the security of property from theft and looting, the transparency of government procurement, macroeconomic conditions or t