Competitivite et developpement du secteur prive en Afrique: une analyse comparative des donnees sur le climat des investissements de la Banque Mondiale
Ramachandran, Vijaya | Eifert, Benn
Investment Climate Survey data are now available for several member countries of the World Bank, including eight in Sub-Saharan Africa. These reports and the surveys that underpin them have generated very large quantities of data on many dimensions of the business environment. This paper is an attempt to synthesize some of the key, commonly available indicators in a comparative framework, focusing on Africa and using countries such as China, India, Morocco, and Bolivia as international reference points. From indicators in the areas of macroeconomic stability, finance, market structure, infrastructure, skills, customs procedures, labor regulations, business regulations, corruption, and security, it is evident that most African business environments still have serious shortcomings compared with their international competitors. Although more analysis is needed to quantify the impact of different dimensions of the business environment on firm-level productivity, in some cases the direct costs of poor business environments to firms are quantifiable, and the results are striking. The results suggest that improved competitiveness in Africa will require lower costs of doing business and higher productivity, not lower real wages, which are not the main obstacle.
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