# **Table A31:  Global Insight Business Risk and Conditions  (WMO)**

**Data Provider Description Website Data Source Type Respondents Frequency Coverage Public Access Description**

Global Insight Commercial business information provider headquartered in Boston, United States www.globalinsight.com World Markets Online Expert Assessment Staff of World Markets Research Center, subject to regional reviews for comparability Annual assessments with daily online updates Global sample of countries Commercially available WMO produces assessments of the quality and stability of various dimensions of the business environment. It was acquired by Global Insight in 2003, which also owns and produces the DRI Global Risk Service (see Table A8). These two sets of ratings continue to be produced independently and so we continue to treat them as distinct sources as we did prior to 2003.

|**Voice and Accountability**<br>_Institutional permanence_An assessment of how mature and well-established the political<br>system is. It is also an assessment of how far political opposition operates within the system<br>or attempts to undermine it from outside.<br>|2006<br>X|2005<br>X|2004<br>X|2003<br>X|2002<br>X|2000<br>X|1998<br>X|1996<br>..|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|_Representativeness_How well the population and organised interests can make their voices<br>heard in the political system. Provided representation is handled fairly and effectively, it will<br>ensure greater stability and better designed policies.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|..|
|**Political Stability**|||||||||
|_Civil unrest_How widespread political unrest is, and how great a threat it poses to investors.|||||||||
|Demonstrations in themselves may not be cause for concern, but they will cause major<br>disruption if they escalate into severe violence. At the extreme, this factor would amount to<br>civil war.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|..|
|_Terrorism_Whether the country suffers from a sustained terrorist threat, and from how many<br>sources. The degree of localisation of the threat is assessed, and whether the active groups<br>are likely to target or affect businesses.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|..|
|**Government Effectiveness**|||||||||
|_Bureaucracy_**:**An assessment of the quality of the country’s bureaucracy. The better the<br>bureaucracy the quicker decisions are made and the more easily foreign investors can go<br>about their business.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|..|
|_Policy consistency and forward planning_How confident businesses can be of the continuity<br>of economic policy stance - whether a change of government will entail major policy<br>disruption, and whether the current government has pursued a coherent strategy. This factor<br>also looks at the extent to which policy-making is far-sighted, or conversely aimed at short-<br>term economic advantage.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|..|
|**Regulatory Quality**|||||||||
|_Tax Effectiveness_How efficient the country’s tax collection system is. The rules may be clear<br>and transparent, but whether they are enforced consistently. This factor looks at the relative<br>effectiveness too of corporate and personal, indirect and direct taxation.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|..|
|_Legislation_An assessment of whether the necessary business laws are in place, and<br>whether there any outstanding gaps. This includes the extent to which the country's<br>legislation is compatible with, and respected by, other countries' legal systems.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|..|
|**Rule of Law**|||||||||
|_Judicial Independence_An assessment of how far the state and other outside actors can<br>influence and distort the legal system. This will determine the level of legal impartiality<br>investors can expect.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|..|
|_Crime_How much of a threat businesses face from crime such as kidnapping, extortion, street|||||||||
|<br>violence, burglary and so on. These problems can cause major inconvenience for foreign<br>investors and require them to take expensive security precautions.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|..|
|**Control of Corruption**|||||||||
|_Corruption_: An assessment of the intrusiveness of the country’s bureaucracy. The amount of<br>red tape likely to countered is assessed, as is the likelihood of encountering corrupt officials<br>and other groups.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|..|
|**Country Coverage**|**202**|**201**|**202**|**186**|**186**|**181**|**181**|**..**|
|**Year of Publication**|**2006**|**2005**|**2004**|**2003**|**2002**|**2000**|**1998**|**..**|

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