06/09/2006 3:44:54 pm
World Bank: Ease of Doing Business. All indexes ranking countries in different criteria have a limited value. They always simplify and sometimes things are not really comparable. But still, comparisons between countries are relevant for those who want to reform.

The World Bank is publishing an Ease of Doing Business Index. Countries are simply compared concerning aspects of society that are relevant for how easy it is to do business. Singapore is number one, New Zealand number two and the US is number three. The countries that have improved the most lately are Mexico, Georgia and Serbia.

Sweden is number 13. A look at the sub-categories show, however, that Sweden is number 98 when it comes to the labor market. And it also gets very low score in protecting investors and taxes. These low scores are the same for Sweden in these categories for most studies and evaluations. One again confirmed, then.

With all its simplifications, an index like this might indicate relevant change over time and on specific areas. From that, one could learn where to reform.