Doing BusinessPresentation to ABA Section of

International Law

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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Karim Belayachi, Report Co-Author and Private Sector Development Specialist

Doing Business – Origins

First Doing Business report launched in September 2003.

Motivation: to establish intellectual leadership in the area of assessing the environment for doing business – creating methodology, templates and database for interested staff, policy makers and researchers

Purpose: to provide an objective basis for measuring, understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business.

Objective: effective regulations, accessible to all, and efficient in their implementation.

Initial data for 5 indicator sets in 133 economies DB12 features 10 indicator sets in the ranking plus data on Employing Workers for 183 economies.

• ABA and Doing Business share common goals– Global outlook– Education and knowledge-sharing– Development of policy in the international arena– Promotion of rule of law

• ABA Membership indicates values that align with DB– Professional development– International networks– Legal thought-leadership and excellence– Staying informed of the most up-to-date regulations and legal

procedures for your firm and clients• We are proud to welcome you into the Doing Business contributor

network and look forward to learning from your expertise

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What does Doing Business measure?

Doing Business indicators:

Focus on regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small to medium-sized domestic business.

Are built on standardized case scenarios.

Are measured for the most populous city in each country.

Are focused on the formal sector.

DO NOT measure all aspects of the business environment such as macroeconomic stability, corruption, level of labor skills, proximity to markets, or of regulation specific to foreign investment or financial markets.

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Doing Business indicators – 11 areas of business regulation (10 included in the DB2012 ranking)

Property rightsInvestor protectionAccess to credit

Entry Administrative burden Flexibility in hiring

Recovery rateReallocation of assets

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What's new in Doing Business 2012?

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DB12 Results: Which regions have the most business-friendly environment in Doing Business?

Economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the most likely to have both weaker legal institutions and more complex regulatory processes

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1. Singapore 16. Georgia2. Hong Kong SAR, China 17. Thailand3. New Zealand 18. Malaysia

4. United States 19. Germany

5. Denmark 20. Japan6. Norway 21. Latvia7. United Kingdom 22. Macedonia, FYR8. Korea, Rep. 23. Mauritius9. Iceland 24. Estonia10. Ireland 25. Taiwan, China11. Finland 26. Switzerland 12. Saudi Arabia 27. Lithuania13. Canada 28. Belgium14. Sweden 29. France15. Australia 30. Portugal

DB12 Results: Top 30 economies for the ease of doing business in 2010/11

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DB12 Results: Globally, the pace of change increased with 245 changes in 125 economies

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78% of economies in Sub-Saharan Africa implemented business regulation reforms in 2010/2011, compared to 33% in 2005/2006

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Impact: Doing Business as a catalyst for regulatory reforms around the world

More than 80 countries have requested technical assistance to improve the investment climate in the areas measured by Doing Business

Subnational measurements underway in 17 countries (covering 184 cities) in FY11 alone

DB has proven to be an effective tool for Work Bank Group client economies, including IDA and conflict affected countries.

• Most WBG reforms supported in low-income and IDA countries (26 in FY10)

Regulatory reforms informed by DB

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Impact: Peer-to-peer government learning on the rise

Reform committees in over 35 countries • At the Prime Minister’s or President’s level (e.g. Colombia, Rwanda)

•At the ministerial level (e.g. India, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Tajikistan, Thailand)

Systematic learning from and cooperating with others•Peer-learning events in El Salvador (Central America), Mauritius (Small Island States and Sub-Saharan Africa), Abu Dhabi (Arab World), Georgia (Eastern and Central Europe), Malaysia (East Asia and the Pacific)•Ease of Doing Business Action Plan for 21 members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation; champion economies in 5 areas (Japan; New Zealand; Singapore; Hong Kong SAR, China; Korea)

Managing for results and tracing impact •APEC initiative targets 25% improvement in ease of doing business

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Logistics: The Annual Doing Business Report Cycle

Data analysis and government feedback-Analyze and verify data received from over 9,000 contributors

-Request feedback on reforms from governments

Publication/writing-Analyze data and write report-World Bank Group-wide colleagues review report and provide feedback

Report production

Media outreach-Coverage in all major global media outlets including Economist, FT, New York Times- Over 7,900 media citations

Data coding- Coding of 52,000 data points - 245 reforms in 125 economies recorded in DB12, 13% more than the previous year

Surveys- Write surveys, in consultation with academic advisers- Send surveys to contributors

Website-5.4 million hits since DB11

Data collection & verification - Conference calls & VC’s with contributors-Written correspondence- Travel to 21 countries for DB2012

Dec- Jan

Feb- May

June- Aug

Sept- Nov

Launch and roadshows- 30 countries hosted roadshows- 29 VC's including media & gov’t - 27 countries participated in 2 regional peer-learning events

June 1st cutoff date for reforms

Mail Reports- Mailing of reports and certificates of appreciation to contributors from Dec-Feb

To start, the Doing Business team, with academic advisers, designs a standardized case study and develops a survey.

Surveys are administered through more than 9,000 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, government officials and other professionals.

These experts have several (typically 4) rounds of interaction with the Doing Business team, involving conference calls, written correspondence and country visits.

The data from surveys are subjected to numerous tests for robustness, which lead to revisions or expansions of the information collected.

The data for all sets of indicators in Doing Business 2013 are for June 1, 2012 (except for Paying Taxes, for which the data refer to Jan–Dec 2011).

Logistics: How are the data collected?

Logistics: Topics requiring Legal Expertise

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Starting a Business Registering a limited liability company and setting it up for operations

Registering Property Transferring property between two limited liability companies

Getting Credit Legal rights of borrowers and lenders and sharing of credit information

Protecting Investors Minority shareholders against harmful related party transaction

Enforcing Contracts Court efficiency in resolving a commercial dispute

Employing Workers Regulation of hiring, working hours, and dismissal

Paying Taxes Preparing, filing and paying taxes and social contributions

Resolving Insolvency Time cost and outcome of bankruptcy proceedings

Logistics: Being a Doing Business contributor

How to contribute?• Every year in Feb/March, we will email you the survey topic or topics of your choice• We allow contributors 3-4 weeks to complete the survey• We might contact you via phone or email for a few follow-up questions• Upon receiving your survey, we will acknowledge your name and firm in the DB website and

report (optional). You will also receive a free report copy and certificate of appreciation.

Why contribute?• Minimal time commitment for a pro-bono project that has a high and measurable impact• Maintain contact with the World Bank/IFC; join a global network of over 9,000 professionals • Recognition on the Doing Business website, which receives 5 million+ site visits per year• Keep your professional skills sharp by updating your knowledge of changing regulations

Next Steps?

1. Download Doing Business survey(s) from this website: www.doingbusiness.org/surveys

2. Complete survey(s) by Friday, March 23

3. Email survey(s) to Yasmin Zand; yzand@ifc.org; +1 (202) 458-9458

4. Be sure to indicate that you are an ABA member in your email to Yasmin

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Legal Resources

Doing Business Resources• Doing Business website

– Data, Economy profiles, Research papers, Law library, Reform simulator, Business reform summaries

• 10th Anniversary Doing Business Research Conference in April• Join us on Doing Business Facebook and Twitter

Other Resources• Subnational Doing Business Reports

– Business regulations and their enforcement across locations in a single country or region

• Women, Business and the Law Report– Indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as

entrepreneurs and employees• Investing Across Borders Report

– Compares regulation of foreign direct investment around the world• Enterprise Surveys

– The world's most comprehensive company-level data in emerging markets and developing economies. 

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Thank you. For more information:www.doingbusiness.org

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