Washington, D.C., October 1, 2008
—A new report from the World Bank and IFC finds that the geographical challenges in many landlocked economies are compounded by a bureaucratic regulatory environment that hinders business, yet there are real opportunities to strengthen competitiveness through reform. Better business regulations give firms more opportunity to grow and create jobs.
The report,
Doing Business in Landlocked Economies 2009
, analyses the ease of doing business in 38 landlocked economies. When compared to coastal economies, landlocked countries tend to rank lower in starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, and closing a business.
Allen Dennis, author of the report, said, “Although many landlocked developing countries have opened up new sectors to investment, local entrepreneurship often remains weak. Improving business regulation can help landlocked economies strengthen their competitiveness.”
Landlocked economies face special challenges, particularly with cross-border and international trading, because of long delays and high costs. Reforms to reduce cost and expedite export procedures will help domestic firms become more competitive globally.
John Wilson, World Bank Lead Economist, said “This report shows that landlocked economies with better business regulation tend to trade more and are more competitive. Some of these economies, particularly in Central Asia, are improving their regulatory environments to promote private sector–led growth. In fact, the top reformer in 2008 was Azerbaijan.”
Landlocked economies in high-income OECD countries have the most business-friendly regulatory environment, followed by Eastern Europe and Central Asia. African and Central Asian landlocked economies present the most challenging regulations for operating businesses. For instance, four of the 10 most difficult places in the world to operate a business are African countries: Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, and Niger.
Of the 38 landlocked economies studied by the report, Switzerland ranks highest on the overall regulatory ease of doing business, followed by Austria, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, and Botswana. Overall, landlocked economies have an average ranking of 107 out of 181 economies covered by the global
Doing Business 2009
report.
About Doing Business
The Doing Business project ranks economies based on 10 indicators of business regulation that record the time and cost to meet government requirements in starting and operating a business, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closing a business. The rankings do not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates. For more information, visit
www.doingbusiness.org
.