World Bank2012-03-192012-03-192009-08-12https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3143This survey report will help the government of Afghanistan think through its approach to private sector development. Historically, there has been a dearth of information and reliable statistics about Afghanistan's economy. This report reviews the constraints that firms currently operating in Afghanistan face and provides a basis for possible policy recommendations to address these constraints. It is hoped that the report will be a useful tool to support investment climate reforms and enhance the private sector dialogue in Afghanistan. The report also identifies a group of emerging issues that include the interlinked issues of competitiveness, innovation, and diversification. Despite strong growth, policymakers should be concerned about the lack of entry of new firms, especially foreign firms, and the lack of innovative behavior. These two factors indicate a lack of competitiveness and warrant further research. An undiversified manufacturing sector that is overwhelmingly linked to the agriculture and agro-processing sectors are also of concern. The strong growth trend itself needs more evaluation. A country that has weak governance, poor factor markets, and firms that are not innovative is unlikely to achieve sustainable long-term growth. The report discusses the issues noted above, summarizes the status of reforms, and suggests some next steps, including further analytic work on a number of topics, public private dialogue on certain issues, and stronger government reform efforts.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO FINANCEACCESS TO FINANCINGACCESS TO FORMAL FINANCEACCOUNTINGATM CARDSAVAILABILITY OF FINANCEBANK ACCOUNTBANK ACCOUNTSBANK CREDITBANKING SERVICESBANKSBARRIER TO ENTRYBRIBEBRIBESBUSINESS ACTIVITIESBUSINESS ACTIVITYBUSINESS ASSOCIATIONBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS PROBLEMSBUSINESS TRANSACTIONSCOLLATERALCOLLEGE EDUCATIONCOMMERCIAL BANKSCOMPANYCORRUPTIONCREDIT CARDCREDIT CARDSCURRENCYDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT BANKDIVERSIFICATIONDOMESTIC MARKETEARNINGSEARNINGS EQUITYECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTELECTRONIC BANKINGEMERGING MARKETEMERGING MARKET ECONOMIESENROLLMENTENTREPRENEURSEQUIPMENTEQUITY FINANCINGEXCHANGE RATEEXPANSIONEXPORTEREXPORTERSFINANCE ACCESSFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL SECTOR ASSESSMENTFIRM SIZEFIRM SIZESFIRMSFIXED ASSETSFOREIGN COMPANIESFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFOREIGN FIRMSFORMAL CREDITFORMAL FINANCIAL SECTORGENDERGOVERNANCE ISSUESGOVERNMENT POLICIESGOVERNMENT POLICYGOVERNMENT REGULATIONSHANDICRAFTSHOUSEHOLDSHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN RESOURCEINDICATORS OF ACCESSINFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINTERNATIONAL MARKETSINVESTINGINVESTMENT CLIMATEINVESTMENT CLIMATESINVESTMENT DECISIONSISSUANCEJUDICIAL REFORMJUDICIAL SYSTEMLABOR MARKETSLAND AS COLLATERALLAND REGISTRATIONLICENSINGLOANLOAN SIZEMACROECONOMIC INSTABILITYMANUFACTURERSMARKET ECONOMIESMARKET ECONOMYMEDIUM ENTERPRISEMONETARY FUNDMONEYLENDERSNONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONSOUTPUT LOSSESOVERDRAFTOVERDRAFT FACILITYPAYMENT SERVICESPERSONAL ASSETSPOLICY DESIGNPRIVATE INVESTMENTPRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENTPROFITABILITYPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC POLICYREGISTRATION PROCESSREGISTRATION SYSTEMREGULATORY BURDENSRETURNSRULE OF LAWSALES GROWTHSANITATION FACILITIESSMALL FIRMSSMESOURCES OF FINANCESTATE BANKSTAXTAX RATESTELECOMMUNICATIONSTRADINGTRANSPARENCYTRUST FUNDUNIONWARRANTSWATER CONNECTIONWATER SUPPLYWOMANWORKING CAPITALWorld Bank10.1596/3143