October 8, 2003	Wednesday	Sha’aban 11, 1424

WASHINGTON, Oct 7: Cumbersome regulations for business make it harder for countries to lift themselves out of poverty, while increasing the potential for corruption, according to a World Bank report released on Tuesday.

“Poor countries regulate business the most,” the report said.

“Regulation in poor countries is more cumbersome for all aspects of business activity. A group of poor countries — Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mali, Mozambique, Paraguay, the Philippines, and Venezuela — regulate the most heavily.

“A much wealthier group — Australia, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Jamaica, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, and the United Kingdom — regulate the least.”

The study of 130 countries, compiled by the bank with academic and management experts, was aimed at spurring greater reforms in the poorest countries that rely heavily on international assistance.

“A vibrant private sector — with firms making investments, creating jobs, and improving productivity — promotes growth and expands opportunities for poor people,” the report said.

“Heavier regulation is generally associated with greater inefficiency in public institutions — longer delays and higher cost — and results in higher unemployment, increased corruption, less productivity and investment, but not better quality of private or public goods.

“The countries that regulate the most — poor countries — have the least enforcement capacity and the fewest checks and balances in government to ensure that regulatory discretion is not used to abuse businesses and exact bribes.”

The report noted that in Australia, a business can be registered in two days, but in Haiti it takes 203 days; in Denmark, it costs nothing to start a business, while in Cambodia the costs is five times the nation’s per capita income.—AFP