Morisset, Jacques

Administrative Barriers to Foreign Investment in Developing Countries Morisset, Jacques [electronic resource] / Morisset, Jacques - Washington, D.C., The World Bank, 2002 - 1 online resource (28 p.) - Policy research working papers. World Bank e-Library. .

Recent international experience has shown that excessively complex administrative procedures required to establish and operate a business discourage inflows of foreign direct investment. Morisset and Lumenga Neso present a new database on the administrative costs faced by private investors in 32 developing countries. The database is much more comprehensive than the existing sources, as it contains not only information on general entry procedures, such as business and tax registration, but also captures regulation on land access, site development, import procedures, and inspections. The data include measures on the number of procedures, direct monetary costs, and time. The cost of administrative procedures vary significantly across countries. The most important barriers appear to be the delays associated with securing land access and obtaining building permits, which in several countries take more than two years. Countries that impose excessive administrative costs on entry tend to be equally intrusive in firm operations, thereby weakening the argument that barriers to entry are a substitute for the government's unwillingness or inability to regulate enterprise operations. The level of administrative costs is positively correlated with corruption incidence and exhibits a negative correlation with the quality of governance, degree of openness, and public wages. These correlations suggest that administrative reforms need to be incorporated into the broader agenda for reforms such as trade and financial liberalization, the fight against corruption, and public sector administration. This paper-a product of the Foreign Investment Advisory Service-is part of a larger effort to study the role of administrative barriers in the investment decision of private firms. The authors may be contacted at jmorisset@ifc.org or lumenganeso@hec.unige.ch.

10.1596/1813-9450-2848


Accounting
Administrative Costs
Application Form
Bank
Consumer
Consumer Markets
Contribution
Country Strategy and Performance
Debt Markets
Direct Investment
E-Business
Economic Theory and Research
Emerging Markets
Finance and Financial Sector Development
Financial Literacy
Foreign Investment
Information
Interest
International Economics & Trade
Investment and Investment Climate
Investor
Investors
Law and Development
Macroeconomics and Economic Growth
Money
Pension
Private Sector Development
Productivity
Public Sector Economics and Finance
Public Sector Regulation
Revenues
Security
Stocks
Trade Law
Wages

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