Institutional obstacles to doing
            business : region-by-region results from a worldwide survey
            of the private sector
Case studies and anecdotal evidence have
            suggested that uncertainty about policies, laws, and
            regulations has hampered development of the private sector
            in many developing countries. The authors present results
            from a new cross-country survey that provides comparable
            data on local investors' problem in dealing with the
            state. The survey was conducted in 69 countries and covers
            more than 3,600 entrepreneurs. The questionnaire asked 25
            questions about investors' perceptions about such
            issues as the predictability of laws and policies, the
            reliability of the judiciary, corruption in bureaucracies,
            and security of property rights. It also asked about general
            obstacles to doing business and the quality of
            state-delivered services. The authors discuss their
            methodology and present many findings. Among them: a) In
            less developed countries the majority of entrepreneurs
            constantly fear policy surprises and unexpected changes in
            rules that can seriously affect their business.
            Entrepreneurs in Asia have the most trust in government
            announcements of policy changes and changes in rules;
            entrepreneurs in the Commonwealth of Independent States are
            the most cynical about new announcements; and half of
            businessmen surveyed in Latin America and Central and
            Eastern Europe do not believe government announcements. b)
            Entrepreneurs worldwide feel that the cost of doing business
            is substantially increased by theft and crime and in many
            developing countries the business community feels that
            authorities do not adequately guarantee their personal
            safety and do not reliably enforce their property rights. c)
            Unreliable judiciaries are perceived as major problems in
            many developing countries. This applies in particular to the
            Commonwealth of Independent States and to Latin American
            countries. d) Entrepreneurs in industrial countries
            perceived the greatest obstacles to doing business to be tax
            regulations and high taxes, labor regulations, safety or
            environmental regulations, financing, regulations for
            starting new business and operations, and general
            uncertainty about the costs of regulation. e) Entrepreneurs
            in South Asia and Southeast Asia ranked the top obstacles to
            doing business as high taxes and tax regulations, inadequate
            infrastructure, inflation, labor regulations, and
            regulations for starting new businesses and operations. f)
            In the Middle East and North Africa, entrepreneurs
            considered lack of infrastructure the chief obstacle to
            doing business, followed by corruption, high taxes and tax
            regulations, and financing. g) In Central and Eastern
            Europe, high taxes and tax regulations were the only
            regulation-related obstacle ranked high, followed by
            financing, corruption, and inflation. h) The worst obstacles
            in Latin America were considered to be corruption and
            inadequate infrastructure, followed by crime and theft,
            problems with finance, and high taxes and tax regulation. i)
            In Sub-Saharan Africa the biggest problems were corruption,
            tax regulations and high taxes, inadequate infrastructure,
            inflation, crime and theft, and financing.