Regulatory reform has emerged as an important policy area in developing countries. For reforms to be beneficial, regulatory regimes need to be transparent, coherent, and comprehensive. They must establish appropriate institutional frameworks and liberalized business regulations; enforce...

Regulatory reform has emerged as an important policy area in developing countries. For reforms to be beneficial, regulatory regimes need to be transparent, coherent, and comprehensive. They must establish appropriate institutional frameworks and liberalized business regulations; enforce...

The purpose of this report is to introduce and present key components of the regulatory governance agenda, and to discuss its relevance for developing countries. The paper identifies failings and knowledge gaps relevant to the implementation of regulatory governance initiatives, and it discusses...

This report has been developed by the international Finance Corporation (IFC) and summarizes findings from a recent study of the business environment for small and medium-sized enterprises and individual entrepreneurs in Belarus. The survey and report have been conducted as part of the second...

Investing Across Borders 2010 (IAB) presents cross-country indicators analyzing laws, regulations, and practices affecting foreign direct investment (FDI) in 87 economies. The indicators focus on 4 thematic areas measuring how foreign companies invest across sectors, start local businesses,...

This paper looks at the role and design of regulatory reform institutions in developing countries. These institutions are classified into four broad types: 1) regulatory reform units, commonly known in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries as oversight bodies for...

Since investment climate reforms in developing countries started gaining traction in the 1990s, most efforts have focused on issues at the national level, achieving varying degrees of success for reasons that are relatively well understood. This handbook provides an overview of efforts and...

This paper examines the general purpose licensing imposed by central or local authorities, and the need to eliminate unnecessary licensing regulations imposed on businesses. This paper does not address the issue of reform of sector-specific or professional licensing regulation, but provides...

This report shows how business registers employ information and communication technology (ICT) to perform their functions more efficiently while at the same time providing businesses with more user-friendly services. Particular attention is paid to achieving innovative solutions, that is,...

This document presents the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for the World Bank Group (WBG) for Indonesia, covering the period FY2021-FY2025. The CPF builds on past successes and blends continuity of the past strategy with change. The past strategy began shifting towards supporting private...