Understanding the efficiency of regulatory framework and public services in practice to support the private sector.
In developing economies, the private sector generates about 90 percent of jobs. It is the primary source of employment and pathway out of poverty. A vibrant private sector depends on a conducive business environment, consisting of a healthy regulatory environment, efficient public services, and streamlined regulations.
To comprehend the business environment of an economy, it is important to understand how regulatory framework and public services are implemented efficiently. Can a firm file tax electronically? How long does it take to receive a decision on loan application? Is accessing land a constraint for businesses? What are perceptions around methods of commercial disputes resolution? These are just a few of the many critical questions that the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES) ask firms.
The WBES first-hand data, coming from firms’ own experiences and perceptions, are incorporated into Business Ready (B-READY) – the World Bank’s flagship project in assessing the business environment worldwide.
The integration of Enterprise Surveys data into Business Ready
The WBES questions are the source of the B-READY firm-level survey data, contributing to the project’s de facto measures on practical implementation, and complementing the project’s de jure measures on laws and regulations. The questions come from relevant variables in existing WBES databases, as well as additional B-READY-specific questions, cutting across most of the project’s topics.
The combination of B-READY data and the nationally representative WBES data, which are directly obtained from registered firms, will enable more granular analysis at both the firm and economy levels, and will capture the inter-connectedness of the regulatory framework and the provisions of public services.
Intended impact
Enterprise Surveys and B-READY’s data and report aim to highlight ways to improve the business environment for private sector development in economies around the world. They also measure outcomes that help to quantify the impact of reforms on the private sector.
Specifically, these knowledge materials, including granular and aggregated data and reports, serve as global public goods that aim to promote economic reforms. They open doors for knowledge sharing and policy dialogue for governments, civil society, the private sector, and development institutions. They also intend to improve the World Bank’s assessments of the investment climate and private sector diagnostics.
Enterprise Surveys and Business Ready are both situated within the World Bank’s Global Indicators Group of the Development Economics Vice Presidency.
