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Bitola, FYR Macedonia, July 14, 2008
—The ease of doing business varies greatly among cities in South East Europe, according to a new report launched today by the World Bank Group.
Doing Business in South East Europe 2008
covers 22 cities in seven economies: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo -Under UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), Kosovo is administered by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)-, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. For the first time,
Doing Business
goes beyond the most populous city to compare cities in the same economy with each other and with other cities in the region. It benchmarks four areas of regulation that are subject to local jurisdiction and enforcement: starting a business, obtaining licenses, registering property, and enforcing contracts.
The report highlights that, while some economies achieved remarkable progress in improving their investment climate at the national level—Croatia and FYR Macedonia were among the top 10 reformers globally last year—there is scope to extend reforms to the local level. “South East Europe is reforming rapidly to improve the ease of doing business. This report
provides city-level data that can inspire reforms at the national and local levels and add to the region’s reform momentum,” said Jane Armitage, World Bank Country Director.
Bitola in FYR Macedonia is the top-ranking city measured by the report. “We are pleased that a city here is the top performer,” said Patricia Rader, USAID Mission Director in Skopje. “Business reforms are critical for growth. Investors need predictability, good corporate governance, and contractual law; and the region needs investment to stimulate growth and create jobs.”
The report identifies reforms that can make cities more competitive by reducing the cost and risk of doing business. These include consolidating construction licenses through one-stop shops, introducing electronic business registries, and improving courts’ case management systems. Cities can learn about reform solutions from other cities in their own country or elsewhere in the region. If a city were to adopt all the best practices already in place in South East Europe, it would rank ninth among the 178 economies measured by
Doing Business
, comparable to the rankings for Ireland and Canada. This would mean adopting the good practices from Vlora, Albania (to start a business); Osijek, Croatia (to obtain construction licenses); Pljevlje, Montenegro (to register property); and Zrenjanin, Serbia (to enforce contracts).
The report was directed by FIAS, a multidonor investment climate advisory service of the World Bank Group. It was produced with financial support from IFC, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). It is based on the efforts of more than 224 lawyers, accountants, architects, contractors, engineers, property specialists, and national and local public officials. For more information or to download the report, visit
www.doingbusiness.org/SEE
.
About the Doing Business Project
The
Doing Business
project ranks 178 economies on the ease of doing business. Rankings are based on 10 indicators of business regulation that track the time and cost to meet government requirements in business start-up, operation, trade, taxation, and closure. The rankings do not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates. Since 2003,
Doing Business
has contributed to more than 100 reforms around the world. The
Doing Business
project is based on the efforts of more than 5,000 local experts who provide methodological support and review. For more information about the
Doing Business
project, visit
www.doingbusiness.org
.
Doing Business
also publishes studies that measure business regulations in various cities of a specific economy or region. These focus on business regulations in areas covered by local jurisdiction and enforcement.
They use the methodology of the global
Doing Business
report, thus making domestic and international comparisons possible. The data, methodology, and the names of contributors are available online at
http://subnational.doingbusiness.org
.
This is the first
Doing Business
regional report that allows comparisons among capitals and other cities, both within individual countries and across the region. Data for all economies in Southeast Europe are for January 2008. Data for all other economies are for June 2007.
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