World BankInternational Finance CorporationMultilateral Investment Guarantee Agency2017-06-132017-06-132012-03https://hdl.handle.net/10986/27095This paper examines the general purpose licensing imposed by central or local authorities, and the need to eliminate unnecessary licensing regulations imposed on businesses. This paper does not address the issue of reform of sector-specific or professional licensing regulation, but provides criteria and tools for identifying unnecessary licensing regulations, and their elimination or, in some instances, for changing licensing regulations to free notifications. Indeed, this paper argues that a simplified review of licensing regimes that identifies unnecessary licensing saves energy and resources for well-balanced reform of remaining licensing regulations, eventually providing better protection for the public at large and a more enabling business environment. This paper is primarily oriented towards reform practitioners from governments that intend to reform their business environments; development agencies; donor-funded projects; practitioners of licensing reforms; and others interested in improving state and local governance. This paper is divided into three parts: (1) overview of licensing practices that provides common definitions of licensing, analysis of justified licensing regimes with focus on criteria for their justification, and theoretical overview of unjustified and questionable licenses; (2) analysis of commonly declared functions of unjustified licenses that provides insight into the nature of these licenses and their typology; and (3) four case studies that examine how unjustified licenses can be reformed with examples of unsuccessful, partially successful, and successful reform efforts. The analytical conclusions of this paper summarize criteria for unjustified licenses; describe lessons learned from the reform efforts; and provide a practical set of recommendations to the interested parties.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOADMINISTRATIVE COSTSBREACHESBUDGET ALLOCATIONSBUSINESS ACTIVITIESBUSINESS ACTIVITYBUSINESS APPLICATIONBUSINESS ASSOCIATIONSBUSINESS CLIMATESBUSINESS DEVELOPMENTBUSINESS ENTITYBUSINESS ENTRYBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTSBUSINESS OPERATIONSBUSINESS PRACTICESBUSINESS REGISTRATIONBUSINESS REGISTRATIONSBUSINESS REGULATIONBUSINESS REGULATIONSBUSINESS SECTORBUSINESSESCAPITAL INVESTMENTCAPITAL INVESTMENTSCELL PHONECERTIFICATECHAMBER OF COMMERCECHAMBERS OF COMMERCECITY COUNCILSCOMPETITORSCONDITIONSCONSUMERSCOPYRIGHTCORE BUSINESS ACTIVITIESDATA ANALYSISDEREGULATIONDISCLOSURESDISTRICT GOVERNMENTE-GOVERNANCEECONOMIC ACTIVITYENFORCEMENT ACTIONEQUIPMENTEVASIONFOREIGN INVESTMENTSGAMBLINGGOVERNMENT REVENUESIMPACT ASSESSMENTIMPACT ASSESSMENTSINDUSTRIAL PRODUCTIONINFORMATION REQUIREMENTSINFORMATION SHARINGINNOVATIONSINSPECTIONINSPECTIONSINVENTORYJOINT VENTURESLEASELEGAL IMPLEMENTATIONSLIABILITYLICENSELICENSE FEELICENSE FEESLICENSESLICENSINGLOCAL AUTHORITIESLOCAL GOVERNMENTLOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUESLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOCAL LEVELLOCAL OFFICESLOCAL REVENUELOCAL TAXESMANUFACTURINGMARKETINGMATERIALMEDIUM ENTERPRISEMEDIUM ENTERPRISESMONOPOLY REGULATIONSMUNICIPAL ELECTIONSMUNICIPAL LEVELMUNICIPALITIESMUNICIPALITYNATURAL RESOURCESNEGOTIATIONONE-STOP SHOPSPATENTSPHOTOPHOTOSPOLICY FRAMEWORKPOLITICAL ECONOMYPRINTING PRESSESPRIVATE SECTORPRODUCT INFORMATIONPRODUCTIVITYPROTECTION OF COMPETITIONPROVISIONSPUBLICPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC OFFERINGPUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SECTORSPUBLIC SERVICESQUERIESRADIORADIO FREQUENCIESRADIO STATIONSREDUCTION IN TIMEREGISTRATION OF BUSINESSREGISTRATION OF BUSINESSESREGISTRYREGULATORY REQUIREMENTSRESULTRESULTSRETAIL OUTLETSREVENUE COLLECTIONRISK FACTORSSAVINGSSUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENTSTAXTAX COLLECTIONTAXATIONTELEPHONETHIRD PARTIESTIME FRAMETRADE LICENSESTRANSPARENCYVERIFICATIONWRITTEN FORMWRITTEN REQUESTReportWorld Bank10.1596/27095