Greece ranks 72nd on the Doing Business Report for 2014. Good news? Ok news? Bad news?
Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. For 2014, a total of 189 countries were examined. With a ranking of 72, Greece clearly is in the upper half of the list, albeit quite close to the lower end of the upper half. During the previous 5 years, Greece had ranked around 100 with the worst ranking in 2011 (109). There has been consistent improvement since 2011.
Greece used to be the lowest European country on this ranking. Now, at least the following countries rank behind Greece: Romania (73), Czech Republic (75), Croatia (89), Albania (90) and Serbia (93). Below are some of the more important countries which rank ahead of Greece:
21 - Germany
30 - Austria
36 - Belgium
38 - France
52 - Spain
65 - Italy
Doing Business measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting the following areas in the life cycle of a business. Greece's rankings in those areas are indicated in ascending order.
36 - Starting a business
52 - Trading across borders
53 - Paying taxes
61 - Getting electricity
66 - Dealings with construction permits
80 - Protecting investors
86 - Getting credit
87 - Resolving involvency
98 - Enforcing contracts
161 - Registering property
The rather good ranking for starting a business seems a bit surprising. Foreign investors will probably look with concern at the low ranking for enforcing contracts. As regards registering property, that ranking is clearly Third World. This is of particular concern because solid property rights are always a top priority for foreign investors.
So what's the verdict? Good news? Ok news? Or bad news?
The ranking per se is ok news, at best. However, one also has to consider the trend and the trend since 2010 has clearly been in the right direction and the improvement since then quite remarkable.
Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. For 2014, a total of 189 countries were examined. With a ranking of 72, Greece clearly is in the upper half of the list, albeit quite close to the lower end of the upper half. During the previous 5 years, Greece had ranked around 100 with the worst ranking in 2011 (109). There has been consistent improvement since 2011.
Greece used to be the lowest European country on this ranking. Now, at least the following countries rank behind Greece: Romania (73), Czech Republic (75), Croatia (89), Albania (90) and Serbia (93). Below are some of the more important countries which rank ahead of Greece:
21 - Germany
30 - Austria
36 - Belgium
38 - France
52 - Spain
65 - Italy
Doing Business measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting the following areas in the life cycle of a business. Greece's rankings in those areas are indicated in ascending order.
36 - Starting a business
52 - Trading across borders
53 - Paying taxes
61 - Getting electricity
66 - Dealings with construction permits
80 - Protecting investors
86 - Getting credit
87 - Resolving involvency
98 - Enforcing contracts
161 - Registering property
The rather good ranking for starting a business seems a bit surprising. Foreign investors will probably look with concern at the low ranking for enforcing contracts. As regards registering property, that ranking is clearly Third World. This is of particular concern because solid property rights are always a top priority for foreign investors.
So what's the verdict? Good news? Ok news? Or bad news?
The ranking per se is ok news, at best. However, one also has to consider the trend and the trend since 2010 has clearly been in the right direction and the improvement since then quite remarkable.
Starting a bussiness improved, but also registering property (land registry?) is an issue. Bittersweet. However, if ever Greece improve its ranking eg like Belgium or France the possibilities for better economic results are significant?
ReplyDeleteMany things still do not happen with right way, imagine if we ever "decide" to improve them!
MS