Liepina, SandaCoolidge, JacquelineGrava, Lars2017-09-082017-09-082008https://hdl.handle.net/10986/28243This 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.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO FINANCEACCESS TO INFORMATIONACCESSIBILITYACCOUNTACQUISITIONACTION PLANACTION PLANSADMINISTRATIVE BARRIERADMINISTRATIVE BARRIERSADMINISTRATIVE BURDENSADMINISTRATIVE REFORMSADVISORY SERVICEADVISORY SERVICESALLEVIATION OF POVERTYANNUAL INCOMEAPPLICATION PROCESSESAVERAGE WAGEBANK LOANBARRIERBARRIERS TO ENTRYBARRIERS TO INVESTMENTBENEFICIARIESBEST PRACTICEBEST-PRACTICEBRIBESBROCHURESBUSINESS ASSOCIATIONSBUSINESS CLIMATEBUSINESS COMMUNITYBUSINESS CONFIDENCEBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS INDICATORBUSINESS INDICATORSBUSINESS OPERATIONSBUSINESS REGISTRATIONBUSINESS REGULATIONBUSINESS SURVEYSBUSINESSESBUYERSCALCULATIONCALCULATIONSCAPITAL FORMATIONCCCHAMBER OF COMMERCECHAMBERS OF COMMERCECLIENT COUNTRIESCONSUMERSCONTRIBUTIONCONTRIBUTIONSCOPYRIGHTCOPYRIGHT CLEARANCECOPYRIGHT CLEARANCE CENTERCORRUPTIONCOST OF LABORCOST SAVINGSCURRENCYCUSTOMER SERVICECUSTOMSCUSTOMS DECLARATIONSDEMOCRACYDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPING COUNTRYDIRECT CREDITDOMESTIC INVESTORSE-MAILECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC STRUCTUREEFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTELECTRICITYELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESEMPLOYMENT SERVICEENTERPRISE REGISTRATIONENTREPRENEURENTREPRENEURSEQUITY CAPITALEXPATRIATEEXPENDITURESFINANCE CORPORATIONFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL STATISTICSFIXED CAPITALFOREIGN CITIZENSFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFOREIGN INVESTMENTFOREIGN INVESTORSGLOBAL COMPETITIVENESSGLOBALIZATIONGOVERNMENT ACTIONGOVERNMENT ENTITIESGOVERNMENT INFORMATIONGOVERNMENT POLICYGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROWTH RATEGROWTH RATESGUARANTEE AGENCYHOURLY WAGEHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN RESOURCESIDIMPACT ANALYSISINCOMEINCOME INEQUALITYINCOME TAXINCOMESINFLATIONINSPECTIONINSPECTIONSINSTITUTIONINSURANCEINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL CONSULTANTSINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINTERNATIONAL TRADEINVESTMENT CLIMATEINVESTMENT CLIMATE REFORMINVESTMENT CLIMATE REFORMSINVESTMENT COMMUNITYJOB CREATIONKEY CHALLENGELABOR FORCELABOR MARKETLABOR MARKETSLACK OF INFORMATIONLAND MARKETSLAW ENFORCEMENTLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGISLATIVE REFORMSLICENSELICENSESLIVING STANDARDSMACROECONOMIC POLICYMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMARKET ECONOMYMARKET FAILURESMARKETINGMATERIALMATHMEDIUM ENTERPRISEMINIMUM WAGEMONOPOLIESNEW BUSINESSNEW BUSINESSESNEW COMPANYOUTPUTOUTPUTSPAYMENT METHODSPENSIONERSPERFORMANCE INDICATORSPOVERTY ALLEVIATIONPOWER PARITYPRIVATE INVESTMENTPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENTPRIVATE SECTORSPROBABILITYPRODUCTIVITYPROPERTY RIGHTSPROSPERITYPROTOCOLSPUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONPUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERYPURCHASINGPURCHASING POWERPURCHASING POWER PARITYQUALITY ASSURANCEQUALITY OF WORKQUERIESQUESTIONNAIREREAL ESTATERED TAPEREDUCTION IN TIMEREFORM PROGRAMREGISTRATION PROCESSREGISTRATION PROCESSESREGULATORY ENVIRONMENTRESPONSIBILITIESRESULTRESULTSSALARYSAVINGSSOCIAL INSURANCESTAKEHOLDERSSUPERVISIONTAXTAX LAWSTAX LEGISLATIONTAX PREPARATIONTAX RATESTELECOMMUNICATIONSTELEPHONETERM CONTRACTTOTAL COSTTOTAL SAVINGSTRACK RECORDSTRAINING PROGRAMSTRANSACTIONTRANSITION COUNTRIESTRANSITION COUNTRYTRANSLATIONTRANSPARENCYTYPE OF COSTUNEMPLOYEDUNEMPLOYED PEOPLEUNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT RATEUNIONUSESVALUATIONVALUATIONSVERIFICATIONVIDEOVULNERABLE GROUPSWAGESWEBWEB SITEWEB SITESWESTERN EUROPEWORLD TRADEWORTHWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/28243