Economies improving business regulation

In the past year, governments in 117 economies carried out 216 regulatory reforms aimed at making it easier to start and operate a business, strengthening transparency and property rights, and improving the efficiency of commercial dispute resolution and bankruptcy procedures.
This is a finding of Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs, the eighth in a series of annual reports published by IFC and the World Bank (WB). The report ranks 183 economies on key aspects of business regulation for domestic firms.
Globally, doing business remains easiest in the high-income economies of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and most difficult in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. But developing economies are increasingly active.
In the past year, 66 per cent reformed business regulation, up from 34 per cent six years earlier. In the past five years, about 85 per cent of the world’s economies have made it easier for local entrepreneurs to operate, through 1,511 improvements to business regulation. Doing Business 2011 pioneers a new measure showing how much business regulation has changed in 174 economies since 2005.
China and India are among the top 40 most-improved economies.
However, Nepal is unlikely to enjoy the full benefits of the growing Indian and Chinese markets, at least in the immediate future because of bottlenecks in infrastructural development. "Furthermore, it could be difficult to design and effectively implement key structural reforms that address matters such as labour regulations and financial sector weaknesses," it said.
The World bank said that Nepal’s -- that has around $12 billion GDP -- economic prospects are clouded by political uncertainty that is expected to continue until key stakeholders reach consensus on the type and shape of the new government.
"Business confidence is expected to remain low with continued law and order problems, extortion, occasional strikes, and uncertainty about private property," it added.
The GDP growth rate for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 is expected to be 3.5 per cent. This is less than a high growth rate of 5.3 per cent in 2008. "Political uncertainties, a cooling down of new construction and energy shortages have constrained growth rates," it said, adding that Nepal ended a decade-long conflict in 2006 and has since been working to establish a 'new' Nepal with inclusive and accountable governance structures. However, the transition remains complex and political uncertainty can lead to a deterioration of security the economic performance.
Fiscal management has remained prudent: there has been progress in revenue administration. Service provision, especially in education and health, is improving as community and user groups are increasingly involved in taking decisions that affect their lives.