World Bank2012-03-192012-03-192009-07-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3092Costa Rica is a clear success story. The country enjoys the highest standard of living in Central America and one of the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Not surprisingly, poverty levels are among the lowest in LAC. Indeed in 2004, Costa Rica had the second lowest poverty headcount in LAC with just nine percent of households below the US$2 poverty line. This report is a contribution to those efforts. Based on multiple data sources, it assesses the main obstacles that affect private sector growth in Costa Rica and provides policy options and targeted interventions for improving the business environment and increasing competitiveness, with the goal of achieving sustained and broad-based growth. In this regard, the main focus of the report is on the long-term instead of on cyclical issues. This report outlines a program to address the critical bottlenecks that hamper Costa Rica in diverse fields including infrastructure, technological innovation and quality, human capital, red tape, and access to credit. The result is a rich and encompassing agenda. The rest of the report is structured in the following way. In section two, the report diagnoses the principal obstacles to export growth and of competitiveness in Costa Rica. The diagnostics reveal four areas most in need of reform: infrastructure, human capital and innovation, business regulation, and access to finance. Sections three to six cover each of these areas. Finally, the report closes with a section on conclusions and recommendations.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO CREDITACCESS TO FINANCEACCESS TO FINANCINGACCESS TO LOANSACCREDITATIONADVERTISEMENTSADVERTISINGAFFORDABLE FINANCINGAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTSAGRICULTURAL SECTORSBANK ACCOUNTBANKING SYSTEMBANKSBEST PRACTICEBEST-PRACTICEBONDSBUSINESS ASSOCIATIONBUSINESS CLIMATEBUSINESS COMMUNITYBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS INDICATORSBUSINESS LIFEBUSINESS NEEDSBUSINESS REGULATIONBUSINESS SECTORBUSINESSESBUYERCALCULATIONCAPITAL INVESTMENTCOLLATERALCOMMERCIAL LENDINGCOMPETITIVENESSCOMPUTER SCIENCECONSUMERCONSUMER CREDITCONSUMER DEMANDCONSUMER LOANSCONSUMERSCONTRIBUTIONCONTRIBUTIONSCOOPERATIVESCOPYRIGHTCOPYRIGHTSCORRUPTIONCOST OF SUBSIDIESCOST RECOVERYCREDIT CARDSCREDIT RECORDSCROSS-SUBSIDIESCURRENCYCURRENT ACCOUNTSCURRICULACURRICULUMCUSTOMSDEBTDEBT FINANCINGDEBT SERVICEDEPOSITDEPOSITSDEVELOPMENT BANKSE-MAILECONOMIC CRISISECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC MANAGEMENTECONOMIES OF SCALEEDUCATION LOANSEDUCATION PROGRAMSEDUCATION SYSTEMELECTRICITYENROLLMENTENTERPRISE SURVEYEQUIPMENTEQUITY FUNDINGEXCHANGE RATEEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESEXPORT BASEEXPORT MARKETEXPORT MARKETSEXPORT PROMOTIONEXPORT SECTOREXTERNAL SHOCKSFINANCIAL AIDFINANCIAL CONSTRAINTSFINANCIAL INTERMEDIATIONFINANCIAL MANAGEMENTFINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSFINANCIAL PERFORMANCEFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SERVICESFINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITYFINANCIAL SYSTEMFLEXIBLE FINANCINGFOREIGN TRADEFUTURE GROWTHGENERAL PUBLICGLOBAL COMPETITIVENESSGLOBAL ECONOMYGLOBAL MARKETGOVERNMENT POLICIESGOVERNMENT POLICYGROWTH POTENTIALGROWTH STRATEGYHIGH INTEREST RATESHORIZONTAL INTEGRATIONHOUSEHOLDSHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN RESOURCESINCOMEINCOME CATEGORYINFORMATION SYSTEMSINNOVATIONINSPECTIONINSPECTIONSINSTITUTIONINSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIESINSTITUTIONAL CAPACITYINSURANCEINSURANCE SCHEMEINTEREST RATEINTEREST RATESINTERNATIONAL BANKINVESTINGINVESTMENT CAPITALINVESTMENT CLIMATEINVESTMENT CLIMATE ASSESSMENTLABOR MARKETLABOR MARKETSLARGE FIRMSLEGAL BARRIERSLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGAL ISSUESLEGAL REQUIREMENTSLEGAL SOLUTIONSLENDERSLENDING DECISIONSLICENSELICENSESLIMITED ACCESSLITERACYLITERACY RATESLOW COSTLOW INCOMELOWER INTEREST RATESMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMANAGEMENT OPERATIONSMANUFACTURINGMARKET ANALYSISMARKET DEMANDSMARKET INFORMATIONMARKET PRICESMARKET RESEARCHMATERIALMATHMEDIUM ENTERPRISESMFISMICRO-ENTREPRENEURSMICROFINANCEMOVEMENT OF GOODSMULTINATIONALNATURAL RESOURCESNEW TECHNOLOGIESOBSTACLES TO GROWTHOPERATING COSTSPERFORMANCE INDICATORSPOVERTY LEVELSPRIVATE ENTERPRISESPRIVATE PARTNERSHIPSPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR FINANCINGPRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATIONPRIVATE SECTORSPROCUREMENTPROCUREMENT PROCESSESPRODUCTION PROCESSPRODUCTIVITYPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC BANKSPUBLIC EDUCATIONPUBLIC POLICYPUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPSQUALITY OF SERVICEQUERIESR&DRED TAPEREGISTRATION PROCESSREGULATORY FRAMEWORKRELIABILITYRESULTRESULTSRETAIL BUSINESSESRETURN ON INVESTMENTSSALARIESSALESSATELLITESAVINGSSECONDARY EDUCATIONSECONDARY SCHOOLSECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTSSITESSMALL ENTERPRISESSMALLER ENTERPRISESSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL SECURITYSTATE UNIVERSITYSTUDENT LOANSTEACHER TRAININGTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETECHNICAL EDUCATIONTECHNICAL KNOWLEDGETECHNICAL TRAININGTECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONTECHNOLOGY TRANSFERTELECOMMUNICATIONSTELEPHONETRADE FACILITATIONTRAINING PROGRAMTRAINING PROGRAMSTURNOVER RATESUSERSUSESVALUE CHAINVALUE CHAINSVENTURE CAPITALVENTURE CAPITALISTSVENTURE INVESTORSWAREHOUSEWAREHOUSESWORTHWorld Bank10.1596/3092