Business Licensing and Regulatory Governance

Netherlands - Review of the Dutch Administrative Burden Reduction Programme (February 2007)

This report reviews the Dutch government’s 2003–2007 Administrative Burdens Reduction Programme. The review is carried out in response to a request by the Dutch Minister of Finance Mr. Gerrit Zalm to the World Bank Group in the summer of 2006. The purpose of the report is to review the Dutch reform model, i.e. the institutional and procedural set-up of the Burden Reduction Programme: What worked, what didn’t, and how the Programme can be enhanced to address regulatory reform challenges of the future.

Pursuing Investment Climate Improvements: From Analysis to Reform - An Administrative Barriers Review in Bangladesh (2006)

This Administrative Barriers Review (ABR) – Pursuing Investment Climate Improvements: From Analysis to Reform – was one component of a larger series of joint SEDF-FIAS projects which were completed as part of the design phase of the planned World Bank-led, multi-donor-funded Bangladesh Private Sector Development Support Project (PSDSP), due for effectiveness in FY07. The ABR has also helped underpin the preparation of the donor-funded Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF) to be managed by the IFC.

Mozambique - Study on the Impact of Taxes, Customs, Licenses and other Fees on the Investment Climate - Portuguese Version (September 2006)

This report forms part of a multi-country study FIAS has been undertaking in collaboration with the United Kingdom Department for International Development(DFID), to determine whether the tax policy and tax administration regimes in Africa are conducive to economic growth. A key focus is on the opportunities created by bringing informal firms into the tax net and appropriate tax policies for small enterprises.

Mozambique - Study on the Impact of Taxes, Customs, Licenses and other Fees on the Investment Climate - English Version (September 2006)

This report forms part of a multi-country study FIAS has been undertaking in collaboration with the United Kingdom Department for International Development(DFID), to determine whether the tax policy and tax administration regimes in Africa are conducive to economic growth. A key focus is on the opportunities created by bringing informal firms into the tax net and appropriate tax policies for small enterprises.

Tonga - Regulatory reform for private sector development and job creation (June 2006)

This report covers the activities of and outcomes achieved by a World Bank Group team which provided technical assistance to the Government of Tonga, in relation to regulatory reform for private sector development, during the period 1st March 2005 to 7th June 2006.

Reforming Inspections: Countering Corruption and Waste (June 2006)

Government inspections of firms are important for enforcing regulations to protect public health, safety, and the environment and to carry out economic functions such as tax collection and banking regulation. But most inspection regimes in developing countries impose excessive costs on firms while failing dismally to prevent accidents or mitigate losses from disasters. There is a strong interest in models of reform that will reduce the burden of government inspections while improving standards. This Note offers solutions that do both.