# **Table A27:  Political Risk Services International Country Risk Guide (PRS)**

Political Risk Services

**Data Provider** Political Risk Services **Description** Commercial business information provider headquartered in Syracuse, United States **Website** www.prsgroup.com **Data Source** International Country Risk Guide **Type** Expert assessments subject to peer review at the topic and regional levels **Respondents** Political Risk Services staff **Frequency** Monthly since 1984 **Coverage** Global sample of countries **Public Access** Commercially available **Description** The International Country Risk Guide includes a Political Risk Index, which in turn consists of

The International Country Risk Guide includes a Political Risk Index, which in turn consists of 12 components measuring various dimensions of the political and business environment facing firms operating in a country. We use data from December reports of each year.

|**Voice and Accountability**|2006|2005|2004|2003|2002|2000|1998|1996|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|_Military in Politics_The military are not elected by anyone, so their participation in government,<br>either direct or indirect, reduces accountability and therefore represents a risk. The threat of<br>military intervention might lead as well to an anticipated potentially inefficient change in policy or<br>even in government. It also works as an indication that the government is unable to function<br>effectively and that the country has an uneasy environment for foreign business.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
|_Democratic Accountability._Quantifies how responsive government is to its people, on the basis<br>that the less response there is the more likely is that the government will fall, peacefully or<br>violently. It includes not only if free and fair elections are in place, but also how likely is the<br>government to remain in power or remain popular.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
|**Political Stability**|||||||||
|_Government Stability._Measures the government’s ability to carry out its declared programs, and<br>its ability to stay in office. This will depend on issues as: the type of governance, the cohesion of<br>the government and governing party or parties, the closeness of the next election, the government<br>command of the legislature, and approval of government policies.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
|_Internal Conflict._Assess political violence and its influence on governance. Highest scores go to<br>countries with no armed opposition, and where the government does not indulge in arbitrary<br>violence, direct or indirect. Lowest ratings go to civil war torn countries. Intermediate ratings are<br>awarded on the basis of the threats to the government and busines.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
|_External conflict:_The external conflict measure is an assessment both of the risk to the incumbent<br>government and to inward investment. It ranges from trade restrictions and embargoes, whether<br>imposed by a single country, a group of countries, or the international community as a whole,<br>through geopolitical disputes, armed threats, exchanges of fire on borders, border incursions,<br>foreign-supported insurgency, and full-scale warfare.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
|_Ethnic tensions_: This component measures the degree of tension within a country attributable to<br>racial, nationality, or language divisions. Lower ratings are given to countries where racial and<br>nationality tensions are high because opposing groups are intolerant and unwilling to compromise.<br>Higher ratings are given to countries where tensions are minimal, even though such differences<br>may still exist.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
|**Government Effectiveness**|||||||||
|_Bureaucratic Quality._Measures institutional strength and quality of the civil service,<br>assess how much strength and expertise bureaucrats have and how able they are to<br>manage political alternations without drastic interruptions in government services, or<br>policy changes. Good performers have somewhat autonomous bureaucracies, free<br>from political pressures, and an established mechanism for recruitment and training.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
|**Regulatory Quality**|||||||||
|_Investment Profile._Includes the risk to operations (scored from 0 to 4, increasing in risk); taxation<br>(scored from 0 to 3), repatriation (scored from 0 to 3); repatriation (scored from 0 to 3) and labor<br>costs (scored from 0 to 2). They all look at the government’s attitude towards investment.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
|**Rule of Law**|||||||||
|_Law and Order._The Law sub-component is an assessment of the strength and impartiality of the<br>legal system, while the Order sub-component is an assessment of popular observance of the law.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
|**Control of Corruption**|||||||||
|_Corruption._Measures corruption within the political system, which distorts the economic and<br>financial environment, reduces the efficiency of government and business by enabling people to<br>assume positions of power through patronage rather than ability, and introduces an inherently<br>instability in the political system.|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
|**Country Coverage**|**140**|**140**|**140**|**140**|**140**|**140**|**140**|**130**|
|**Year of publication**|**2006**|**2005**|**2004**|**2003**|**2002**|**2000**|**1998**|**1996**|

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