Publication: Getting Down to Business : Strengthening Economies through Business Registration Reforms
Loading...
Published
2013-12
ISSN
Date
2014-06-17
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Business registration remains a complicated and costly process in many countries, hampering entrepreneurial activity and the creation of formal employment. In Bolivia and Uganda, for example, entrepreneurs need to complete 15 procedures to incorporate a limited liability company. In the Gambia and Djibouti, the cost of incorporation is about 180 percent of per capita income, and the average time needed to start up a business in São Paulo, Brazil, is more than 100 days. Rampant bureaucracy and systemic inefficiencies should not pose obstacles for business development and growth. Several research studies find that simpler business start-up processes are associated with higher rates of formal entrepreneurship, lesser development of shadow economies, increased tax revenues, and decreased corruption. It is clear that easy and straightforward business incorporation practices have multiple spillover benefits for the entire economy.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Saltane, Valentina; Pan, Jiawen. 2013. Getting Down to Business : Strengthening Economies through Business Registration Reforms. IFC SmartLessons;. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18689 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.”
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 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 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 Working with Tajikistan to Develop its First National Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activities(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02)One of the most important instruments of trade facilitation is the commodity nomenclature, which provides a definition of all goods subject to foreign trade. The correct classification of goods forms the basis for determining the appropriate value of a good and for determining the customs duties imposed on a good on import or export. Customs statistics on foreign trade are derived from it, and those statistics in turn serve as a tool for the determination and implementation of customs policy. Commodity nomenclature is used not only at the national level, but also by the World Trade Organization, the World Customs Organization, the United Nations, and other international entities. Importers and exporters or investors in other countries visit customs nomenclature websites thousands of times a day to see the types and levels of customs duties and other charges and trade policy measures that particular countries apply. Trade policy regulations, rules of origin, and trade statistics in almost all of the developed and developing countries are designed and compiled on the basis of customs nomenclatures. This SmartLesson discusses how the Central Asia Trade Logistics Project worked with the Customs Administration of the Republic of Tajikistan on the development of its first national commodity nomenclature.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.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Business Registration Reform Case Studies(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-06)This case study focuses on the attempts of the government of Bulgaria (GoB) to promote and implement reform of the business registration system to better suit the new economic framework that emerged in the country following the collapse of communist rule. The uniqueness of the Bulgarian case is that there were two distinct stages of business registration reforms, which marked two separate periods in the sociopolitical development of Bulgaria: the transformation from planned to market economy and the accession of the country to the European Union (EU). This collection of case studies describes experiences and draws lessons from varied business registration reform programs in economies in vastly different stages of development: Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, Madagascar, and Malaysia. The case studies were written based on a desk study of reforms in each country discussed. Then, more detailed information was gathered by field-based researchers. In some cases, detail on the business registration process that was in place prior to implementation of reforms was unavailable. As such, data on the number of businesses registered and the time required to completed registration before and after the reforms cannot be compared and contrasted. The partial success of the reform during the first year was a consequence of problems in four areas: lack of legislative will, insufficient financial support, inappropriate organizational structure of the new business registration agency, and weak human resource management. All of these problems delayed progress and had negative effects on the registration agency and the business community.Publication Outsourcing of Business Registration Activities(Washington, DC, 2010)In the private sector, outsourcing has become a recognized feature of the business scene. While there are various reasons for contracting out functions to external organizations, in general the justification relates to the potential cost-benefit from adopting this approach. This study set out to ascertain whether the same considerations applied to administrative procedures associated with starting a business. Did business registries outsource any or all of their functions? If so, did the same considerations apply as for the private sector? Were there lessons to be learned from their experience? Responses to these and other questions were received from 53 registries. This paper is not about global commerce, at least, not in the usual sense. It is about some of the more mundane administrative procedures that underpin the activities of the private sector, the basics that help it to function. Business registration is seen as a key factor in determining the investment climate of a country.Publication Business Registration Reform Case Studies(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-06)This collection of case studies describes experiences and draws lessons from varied business registration reform programs in economies in vastly different stages of development: Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, Madagascar, and Malaysia. Over the last twenty years, a number of countries have recognized the importance of smooth and efficient business start up procedures. A functioning business registration system is now viewed as an important regulatory requirement of any economy, and a predictable, transparent, and modern business registration system is acknowledged to help promote private sector growth and job generation. Business registration gives businesses formal status and formal operation in the marketplace. It is a dynamic process that impacts the life of its stakeholders, commercial counterparties, and employees by introducing new responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges.Publication Reforming Business Registration : A Toolkit for the Practitioners(Washington, DC, 2013-01)The private sector, through investment and job creation, plays a crucial role in a country's fight against poverty. Where an effective private sector is lacking, business registration reform has been shown to be one of the essential first steps toward fostering private-sector growth. The easier, faster, and cheaper the business registration process becomes, the higher the number of businesses in an economy. A number of recent studies have found that simpler registration processes translate into advantages for workers and employers, including greater employment opportunities, more productive jobs, and higher total factor productivity. In addition, society as a whole benefits from registration reform. Business registration reform also has the potential to reduce both informality and gender disparity in entrepreneurship. This toolkit provides a systematic analysis of various reform options and is meant to serve as a guide for policy makers and practitioners implementing business registration reform. The toolkit thus displays the fundamentals of international good practice that can be adapted to specific country contexts in a coherent, consistent, and sustainable way.Publication Business Registration Reform Case Studies(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-06)This collection of case studies describes experiences and draws lessons from varied business registration reform programs in economies in vastly different stages of development: Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, Madagascar, and Malaysia. Over the last twenty years, a number of countries have recognized the importance of smooth and efficient business start up procedures. A functioning business registration system is now viewed as an important regulatory requirement of any economy, and a predictable, transparent, and modern business registration system is acknowledged to help promote private sector growth and job generation. Business registration gives businesses formal status and formal operation in the marketplace. It is a dynamic process that impacts the life of its stakeholders, commercial counterparties, and employees by introducing new responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.