Celebrating Reform

Reforming business regulation takes leadership -- more than many other reforms, according to Celebrating Reforms, a joint publication of the World Bank and US Agency for International Development. In fact, the challenges can be daunting, as contributors Simeon Djankov and Caralee McLiesh explain: "In prosperous times, reformers are told not to rock the boat. In crisis times, they get the blame for not reforming sooner and averting the crisis.
View all case studies...

Case Studies By Country Case Studies By Topic

Featured Case Studies

APEC: Sharing goals and experience

The APEC Ease of Doing Business action plan identiﬁes “champion economies” to share information and experience and to assist other members through tailored diagnostic studies. The plan seeks to implement APEC’s view of capacity building as a central part in enhancing cooperation and accelerating progress.

Colombia: Sustaining reforms over time

Colombia’s commitment to regulatory reform has led to substantial improvements in the quality of the business environment and a more solid foundation for private sector development. While the country has more development hurdles to overcome, the measures taken over the past years have greatly improved its competitiveness.

Latvia: Maintaining a reform state of mind

Despite being substantially affected by the ﬁnancial crisis starting in 2008, Latvia continued its reform agenda, adapting it to the new challenges the country was facing. Learn what lessons can be learned about this “reform state of mind” demonstrated by Latvia.

Rwanda: Fostering prosperity by promoting entrepreneurship

Since 2004 Rwanda has substantially improved access to credit, streamlined procedures for starting a business, reduced the time to register property, simpliﬁed cross-border trade and made courts more accessible for resolving commercial disputes.

Does Doing Business matter for foreign direct investment?

This case study presents evidence suggesting that Doing Business matters for FDI, supporting a broader claim that economies that provide a good regulatory environment for domestic ﬁrms tend to also provide a good one for foreign-owned ﬁrms.

How transparent is business regulation around the world?

A growing body of empirical research suggests that while transparency alone might not be enough to increase government accountability, it is certainly necessary.