The Doing Business indicators : measurement issues and political implications

Economic and Labour Market Paper 2007/6

Addresses conceptual and methodological issues as well as the policy implications of the "employing workers" component of the World Bank’s Doing Business Indicators. Begins with a critical review of the "employing workers" indicators and their policy implication that no regulation is best for business (or the lower the regulation, the better the business outcomes). This is followed by a methodological critique of the indicators that addresses problems of selection, coding, weighting and ranking. Argues that despite their role in influencing labour market reforms and policies, the "employing workers" indicators are not satisfactory indicators for formulating policy recommendations.