Publication: "Show Me the Money!" Quantifying the Impact of Regulatory Simplification Projects
Loading...
Published
2007-06
ISSN
Date
2012-08-13
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
International Finance Corporation (IFC) Private Enterprise Partnership (PEP) has developed the following methodology to measure and attribute the economic impact of its national-level business enabling environment (BEE) regulatory simplification projects in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. By comparing specific aspects of the business environment before and after IFC-supported reforms are enacted by the government, it is possible to quantify the benefits accruing to the target population, i.e., the aggregate cost savings to businesses. This effort to quantify the benefits of regulatory improvements has been welcomed by both government counterparts and IFC PEP's donor partners. Using this methodology, IFC PEP has estimated an aggregate cost savings of US$84 million for businesses in its focus countries. The developed methodology is relevant throughout the project life-cycle and can be a useful tool for engaging and motivating key stakeholders to reform.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Liepina, Sanda; Dall'Olio, Andrea; Sethi, Sanwaree. 2007. "Show Me the Money!" Quantifying the Impact of Regulatory Simplification Projects. IFC Smart Lessons Brief. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10654 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Publication Taking Advantage of a Window of Opportunity(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02)Rwanda’s government and private sector took a bold step towards achieving a critical reform agenda with the design and implementationof a single window for international trade system. This implementation marked the first successful collaboration among Rwanda’s numerous agencies that over see the country’s cross-border trade. Addressing the demands of a diverse group of stakeholders was certainly daunting, but effective stakeholder engagement and change management efforts have produced results that are exerting a major impact on the efficiency of goods into and transiting Rwanda. Driving the Single Window project was an aspiration for greater collaboration at the level of government-to-government, business-to business and government-to-business. Rwanda’s membership in the East African Community, which is a Single Customs Territory was another critical factor. By addressing national needs and incorporating a regional focus and outreach in the management of cargo, the Rwanda Electronic Single Window has achieved success.Publication Opening Opportunities(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02)One of the most challenging experiences for businesses involved in cross bordertrade along Kenya’s border points is the clearance of imports and exports. Until 2015, the process of clearing cargo was largely manual. More than 29 different government agencies with different roles in the clearance of international trade goods required businesses to apply for and submit different sets of cargo clearance documents. The World Bank Group’s trade and competitiveness team, through the Kenya investment climate program, has supported the government of Kenya in implementing the Kenya National Electronic Single Window System, also known as the Kenya TradeNet System. This smart lesson describes the system, how it works, its accomplishments, and lessons learned along the way.Publication PortNet in Morocco(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-01)In 2008, Morocco’s National Ports Agency launched a project to create a national single-window platform for Morocco’s foreign tr ade. The process was long and difficult, and its success is owing in large part to the leadership and focus demonstrated by PORTNET S.A., the company created in 2012 to be in charge of the project. This SmartLesson describes the steps PORTNET took to forge a strategic alliance between public and private stakeholders in Morocco to achieve a common, mutually beneficial aim: streamline Morocco’s foreign trade procedures and improve its business climate.Publication Jamaica’s Trade Facilitation Task Force(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02)Jamaica is taking steps to strengthen its trade environment as a way to improve the ease and ways of doing business and stimulate growth. In February 2015, Jamaica formed its National Committee on Trade Facilitation, known as the Trade Facilitation Task Force (TF2). During its first year, theTask Force had fruitful consultations with its members in the public and private sectors on how to increase trade facilitation in Jamaica. These consultations laid the foundation for the creation of a Trade Facilitation Project Plan, currently in use as a guide for the execution and monitoringof Jamaica’s trade-competitiveness activities. This SmartLesson describes the establishment of the Task Force and the progress of the Project Plan— and shares key lessons learned along the way.Publication Walking the Last Mile(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02)Albania’s authorized economic operators (AEO) program is not yet operational, even though the country has adopted the necessary European Union (EU) legal and regulatory frameworks. This smart lesson outlines shortcomings in the adoption of AEO provisions under the European community customs code (CCC) as well as the obstacles the national government has faced putting in place the complementary reform measures necessary to ensure practical effectiveness. Lessons learned from the Albanian experience may be instructive for other countries in the central European free trade agreement region as they look to operationalize their AEO programs without diverting from AEO guidelines as set out in the EU acquis.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Show Me the Money II : From Concept to Practice(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-05)More than a year and a half has passed since International Finance Corporation (IFC) Advisory Services in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (AS ECA) introduced a standard methodology for assessing aggregate cost savings (ACS) for businesses resulting from IFC-supported business enabling environment (BEE) reforms. Within the region, thirteen regulatory reforms in six countries have been assessed with this methodology, showing an estimated $301 million in cost savings for the private sector with an average impact of $29 for every dollar spent on these advisory projects. These results look impressive, but they also raise questions on the concept and application of the methodology: How do the authors know this is adequate impact for the resources invested? What else needs to be done to refine the approach? Can these types of impact measures be applied as decision tools at the program level? On a global level, a review of project supervision reports from the current active BEE portfolio reveals that fifteen projects are reporting on the corporate-wide standard ACS indicator. Thus, another question emerges: What does it take to implement a consistent approach across regions?Publication Productivity Growth in Europe(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-04)This paper tests whether structural or firm-specific characteristics contributed more to (labor) productivity growth in the European Union between 2003 and 2008. It combines the Amadeus firm-level data on productivity and firm characteristics with country-level data describing regulatory environments from the World Bank's Doing Business surveys, foreign direct investment data from Eurostat, infrastructure quality assessments from the Global Competitiveness Report, and credit availability from the World Development Indicators. It finds that among the 12 newest members of the European Union, country characteristics are most important for firm productivity growth, particularly the stock of inward foreign direct investment and the availability of credit. By contrast, among the more developed 15 elder European Union member countries, firm-level characteristics, such as industry, size, and international affiliation, are most important for growth. The quality of the regulatory environment, measured by Doing Business indicators, is importantly correlated with productivity growth in all cases. This finding suggests that European Union nations can realize significant benefits from improving regulations and encouraging inward and outward foreign direct investment.Publication Improving the Business Environment in Latvia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008)This paper tracks the process through which FIAS, the investment climate advisory service of the World Bank Group advised the government of Latvia from 1998 to 2004 on ways to improve the business environment, achieve higher rates of economic growth, and thereby alleviate poverty. This case study shows that it is reasonable to describe how assistance by FIAS led to an improved business environment. The role that FIAS advice played may be discerned at the level of benefits accruing to the target population (i.e., the amount of resources freed up by lower costs associated with administrative procedures). Whether these benefits accruing to the business community translated into higher rates of investment and productivity, and thus to higher economic growth and reduced poverty, is a function of the entire political, social, and economic structure in Latvia. It is evident that there are many links in the chain of causation, and that the direct attribution FIAS can claim diminishes at every step downstream from its activities. Credit for success must be shared with the Government of Latvia and its immediate stakeholders (i.e., the businesses and their associations), the European Union accession process, the input of many other complementary projects, market forces, and fortuitous timing.Publication Impact Evaluation of Business License Simplification in Peru : An Independent Assessment of an International Finance Corporation-Supported Project(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013)This evaluation assesses the impact of International Finance Corporation's (IFC's) Business License Simplification Project in the municipality of Lima, Peru. It reviews two previous evaluations sponsored by IFC and adds new evidence. Under the project, IFC's Foreign Investment Advisory Services (FIAS) worked with the municipality of Lima to reform the administrative process for obtaining a business license in Cercado de Lima, one of 44 districts that comprise metropolitan Lima. According to the municipality, 64 percent of the businesses in this district lacked a business license in 2005, and most of them were microenterprises. The project was implemented from January 2005 to March 2007. The present evaluation conducted an independent review of both previous studies, collected additional data, verified the previous findings, and placed the findings in the context of related studies and evaluations. The goal was to take stock of the results, collect and use other evidence, and draw lessons for future IFC and World Bank operations. This chapter describes and compares the divergent evidence on which procedures were simplified by the license reform and by how much. A second chapter reviews existing evaluations and previous relevant findings from other countries; a third replicates and extends the regression evidence on the impact of license reform on critical business outcomes, such as revenues and employment. The fourth chapter, a cost-benefit assessment of the desirability of the whole program, reviews what the behavior of businesses and their own testimony reveals about the benefits of registration. The final chapter takes into account the findings reviewed in previous chapters, as well as new evidence in this study, and offers policy implications and recommendations for IFC.Publication Economic Informality : Causes, Costs, and Policies - A Literature Survey(World Bank, 2009-05-01)In this survey the author assemble recent theoretical and empirical advances in the literature on economic informality, analyzing the causes and costs of informality in developed and developing economies. In accordance with recent evidence, the author discusses the nature and the roots of informal economic activity across countries distinguishing between informality as the result of 'exclusion' and 'exit.' The author then provides an extensive review of recent international experience with policies aimed at reducing informality, in particular policies that facilitate the formalization process, create a framework for the transition from informality to formality, lend support to newly created firms, reduce or eliminate inconsistencies across regulation and government agencies, increase information flows, and increase enforcement.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication The World Bank Group in Georgia, 2014-23(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-30)This Country Program Evaluation assesses the performance and effectiveness of the World Bank Group’s support to Georgia in achieving the country’s development objectives. In the decade leading up to the evaluation period, Georgia pursued economic reforms to attract critical investments for becoming a regional trade and transport hub. Ambitious economic reforms went hand in hand with efforts to improve human development and strengthening social protection systems. Growing geopolitical tensions and internal political polarization have challenged Georgia’s reform progress in recent years. The Bank Group’s strategy adapted well to Georgia’s development needs and was well coordinated with other development partners. It successfully employed a range of instruments to help increase competitiveness, growth, and job creation, and effectively contributed to improved infrastructure and increased trade by using programmatic and innovative approaches. The Bank Group’s regular investments in analytical work and the switch to results-based programmatic support helped improve the efficiency and effectiveness of education and health care systems. The IEG offers the following lessons based on the evidence and analysis in the Country Program Evaluation: (i) Prioritizing Bank Group support around the move towards deeper regional integration was an effective anchor for key economic reforms for economic convergence. (ii) Pursuing a selective and adaptive approach in a country with high implementation capacity and institutions, strong coordination among development partners, and access to a wide range of external resources can allow the Bank Group to exercise significant influence in areas of comparative advantage and global expertise. (iii) A stronger focus on outcome-based programmatic approaches helped to build local capacity and crowd-in partner financing.Publication The World Bank Group in Tanzania, Fiscal Years 2012–22(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-22)This evaluation assesses the relevance and effectiveness of the World Bank Group's support to Tanzania between Fiscal Years 2012 and 2022. Over the past decade, Tanzania has experienced resilient growth, with an average annual per capita GDP increase of 2.2%. However, poverty remains widespread and slow to decline, underscoring the need for more inclusive growth. The report examines the Bank Group's strategic and operational approaches during this period, which were aligned with Tanzania's development priorities and focused on industrialization, human development, and public sector reforms. The evaluation includes thematic chapters on the Bank Group's support for private sector-led growth and spatial transformation, as well as lessons to inform future support to the country.Publication FY 2025 China Country Opinion Survey Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-08-04)The Country Opinion Survey in China assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in better understanding how stakeholders in China perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in China on 1) their views regarding the general environment in China; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in China; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in China; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in China.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Evaluation Insight Note(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-11-12)This Evaluation Insight Note (EIN) aims to contribute to the World Bank’s goal of encouraging the use of data, digital technology, and innovation towards transforming agri-food systems in client countries. The EIN was guided by the overall question: “How are World Bank agriculture and irrigation projects using technologies and what insights can be drawn from them” In answering this question, the EIN draws from a portfolio identification and review of 158 active and 113 closed projects (FY16-23) World Bank agriculture and irrigation projects to describe the extent and utilization of agricultural technologies. It supplemented the findings from the review with insights drawn from four project evaluations (Project Performance Assessment Reports) prepared by IEG in Bangladesh, Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire, and Vietnam, which were selected because of their likely lessons on agriculture technology. The portfolio and systematic review provided the basis for seven main insights on coverage and nature of technologies used in World Bank agriculture projects, demand-based technological solutions, technology diffusion, collaboration, and investment in enabling environment factors, among others. (1) The World Bank Agriculture and Irrigation portfolio shows limited coverage of advanced technologies. (2) The technologies that are prevalent in projects are mainly focused on increasing agricultural productivity with limited focus on technologies for facilitating market linkages. (3) Among the technologies promoted in Bank agriculture and irrigation projects, some technologies, and applications such GIS, early warning systems and MIS are more concentrated than others. (4) Combining demand-based technological solutions with training and technical assistance supported uptake of those solutions. (5) Technology diffusion worked well when there was strong collaboration between key research and extension agencies, each with well-defined roles and responsibilities in the projects. (6) When technology dissemination efforts are combined with investments in enabling environment factors such as infrastructure (i.e., roads, markets), they facilitated technology adoption. (7) Building sustainable institutional models – key for technology uptake and use – continue to be challenging in Bank supported projects.