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Motivating and Designing Reforms
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The DB indicators have motivated policy makers to discuss and consider business regulation issues. DB indicators has had less influence on the choice, scope, and design of reforms. Most Bank Group staff and country stakeholders interviewed for this evaluation report that they draw on a range of analytical material to determine the nature, sequence, and direction of reforms; the DB indicators have limited use in this regard. Each year DB spotlights countries that have demonstrated the largest gain in the overall rankings and an improvement on at least three indicators. Such an approach, while transparent, does not capture the 'reforms' relevance and potential impact on the binding constraints to investment climate in the country.
There is no evidence that the DB have distorted policy priorities in the countries nor in the Bank Group’s programs, or that countries have made superficial changes for the sole purpose of improving their rankings.
In summary, DB measures the costs but not the benefits of regulation. Despite methodological limitations, it has contributed to development by providing countries with a basis for international comparisons of their regulatory regimes. It has helped to catalyze debates and dialogue about investment climate issues in developing countries. For the Bank Group, it is a key global knowledge product.
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