Countries can improve their rankings by reducing bureaucracy around starting businesses, easing their permitting process and expanding access to electricity, among other measures. The next version of the report, which would have been published in a little over a month, will be delayed.
For three of the countries affected, China, Azerbaijan and the U.A.E., the World Bank had reported a marked improvement in their business environments in recent years. Five years ago, China ranked 90th in the report. Last year, its ranking climbed to 31st. Azerbaijan rose from 80th to 34th over that time. In last year’s report, the U.A.E. was ranked the 16th-best business environment in the world, up from 22nd five years ago.
In 2018, the World Bank’s chief economist, Paul Romer, said data in the report was susceptible to manipulation. “Conflicts are inevitable,” he said, “when the member countries that fund World Bank programs are the ones ranked by the project, generating the potential for internal pressure to make some countries look better or worse. And signs keep emerging of even deeper rot within the project.”
Classroom discussion questions:
- What variables, in addition to those noted above, would you suggest be included in the rankings?
- What alternative, but related rankings, might you include in a location analysis?