World BankInternational Finance Corporation2016-03-312016-03-312004ISBN 0-8213-5748-4https://hdl.handle.net/10986/239942004 was a good year for doing business in most transition economies, the World Bank Group concluded in its Doing Business in 2005 survey, the second in its series tracking regulatory reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business in the world's economies. However, the survey found that conditions for starting and running a business in poorer countries were consistently more burdensome than in richer countries. The top 5 economies on the ease of doing business were, in order: New Zealand, United States, Singapore, Hong Kong (China), and Australia. Slovakia was the leading reformer, together with Lithuania breaking into the list of the 20 economies with the best business conditions. The major impetus for reform in 2003 was competition in the enlarged European Union. Doing Business in 2004 presented indicators in 5 topics (starting a business, hiring and firing workers, enforcing contracts, getting credit and closing a business), so this report updates these measures. There are two additional sets: registering property and protecting investors. The indicators are used to analyze economic and social outcomes, such as productivity, investment, informality, corruption, unemployment, and poverty, and identify what reforms have worked, where and why.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTACCOUNTSADMINISTRATIVE COSTSADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURESASSET VALUEASSETSATTORNEY FEESAUCTIONBANKRUPTCYBANKRUPTCY PROCEDURESBENEFIT ANALYSISBEST PRACTICESBUREAUCRACYBUSINESS COMMUNITYBUSINESS CONDITIONSBUSINESS CONSULTANTSBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS INDICATORSBUSINESS LEADERSBUSINESS RESEARCHBUSINESS SURVEYSCASE MANAGEMENTCITIESCIVIL CONFLICTCOMMERCIAL DISPUTECOMPANY LAWCONTRACT ENFORCEMENTCORPORATE EARNINGSCORPORATE GOVERNANCECOURTCREDIT MARKETSDEBTDISCLOSUREECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC GROWTHEDUCATIONEMPLOYERSENTREPRENEURSEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESFATIGUEGOOD PRACTICEGOVERNMENT EXPENDITURESGOVERNMENT REGULATIONSHEALTH SERVICESHUMAN DEVELOPMENTINCOMEINFLATIONINFORMATION SYSTEMSINSTITUTIONAL INVESTORSINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINVESTMENTINVESTMENT CLIMATELAWSLEGISLATIONMARKETINGPRIVATE SECTORPRODUCERSPRODUCTIVITYPROPERTY RIGHTSPROTECTING INVESTORSPUBLIC HEALTHREDUNDANCYREFORMSREGULATORY REFORMREPORTINGSAVINGSSELLINGSOCIAL SERVICESTAX REFORMTAX REVENUESTAXATIONTRANSACTION COSTSUNEMPLOYMENTWAGESWORKERSYOUNG WORKERSBookWorld Bank10.1596/23994https://doi.org/10.1596/23994