超越他们的重量：来自卢旺达和格鲁吉亚B-READY表现的见解

Taylor Colin Boyce, Charlotte Nan Jiang, Debasmita Padhi, andThomas Philip Romano* A country)—stand out in the 2024Business Ready(B-READY) assessment, “punching above their weight”by achieving significantly higher levels of business readiness than others at comparable income levels. Throughtargeted reforms, particularly in digital infrastructure and policies that promote firm flexibility and/or socialbenefits, these economies offer practical lessons for how low- and middle-income economies can advance businessenvironments in ways that align with their specific development needs and priorities. Their performance showsthat a strong business environment is achievable at any income level with the right strategies.Public Disclosure Authorized A thriving private sector requires a favorablebusiness environment offer a sufficiently supportive environment for private sectorgrowth. The World Bank Group’s B-READY 2024 report (referto box 1) reveals that high-income economies have achievedapproximately69 percent alignment with key businessenvironmentbenchmarks,compared to 50 percent forlow-income and 58 percent for middle-income economies.Figure 1 shows that many low- and middle-income economieslag; indeed, the data reveal a statistically significant relationship The private sector is a vital engine of long-term economicgrowth and global development. When functioning effectively,it drives innovation, entrepreneurship, and access to quality jobswhilepromoting sustainable resource use.In developingeconomies,its role is particularly profound,generatingPublic Disclosure Authorized approximately 90 percent of jobs (USAID 2021), 75 percent ofinvestment (World Development Indicators 2024),1more than70 percent of total output (IMF 2024),2and more than 80 For the private sector to thrive, it requires a favorablebusiness environment. This includes cutting through excessiveregulationsand complex bureaucracy,while ensuringtransparency, fair labor practices, and access to finance. Keyelementsalso include intellectual property protection androbust infrastructure like well-built roads, reliable electricity,andmoderncommunicationnetworks.Competitive, Moreover, the gaps across income levels persist across allareas of business activity. Notably, seven out of ten businessareas (“topics”) measured by B-READY reveal differences of 15points or more between high- and low-income economies in theperformanceof their business environment.The largestdisparitiesare observed in the areas of Business Entry,International Trade, and Financial Services, where high-incomeeconomies score an average of 77 out of 100, 24 points higherthanlow-income economies and 14 points higher thanmiddle-incomeeconomies.Eveninareaswhere Developing economies need targeted reforms toclose the business-readiness gap Many economies—particularly developing ones—do not yet underpinnedbyatransparent,interoperabledigitalinfrastructure and a consistent commitment to efficient deliveryof public services. targeted reforms aimed at closing these gaps and enhancingbusiness readiness in developing economies. Strongperformers punch above their weightacross multiple topics In the input dimension, Rwanda’s strong performance insecuring land and property rights supports efficient access toproductive resources. The property registration process is fastand affordable—it takes just one day to obtain a propertytransfer at a cost equivalent to 4 percent of the economy’s grossnational income (GNI) per capita, compared to 65 days andmore than 600 percent of GNI per capita in other low-incomeeconomies. This efficiency is enabled by a well-developed digitalinfrastructure within its public services delivery system: onlineplatforms facilitate the entire property transfer process througha streamlined and accessible system. Users can upload and Somelow-and middle-income economies,however,perform as well as—or even better than—many high-incomeeconomies.Rwanda and Georgia stand out for exceedingpredictions based on their economic circumstances, as shown bytheir placement outside the dotted red lines in figure 1. Withaverage readiness scores exceeding 74 out of 100, they are on par The sections that follow examine what distinguishes RwandaandGeorgia and how they have achieved this level ofperformance. The case studies identify the topics in which eacheconomyranks in the top quintile among the 10 topicsmeasured by the B-READY framework, grouped into threebroad domains: (1) inputs–topics related to the productionfunction (Business Location, Labor, Financial Services, UtilityServices); (2) markets–topics concerning firm behavior withintheir operating market (Business Entry, International Trade,Market Competition); and (3) institutions–topics concerning Rwanda also excels in facilitating firm interactions with themarketthrough its use of advanced digitalization.InInternational Trade, exported goods clear all border controlagencies in just four days, at a cost equivalent to only 3 percentofth