JAMAICA RANKS above France and Italy in terms of the ease of doing business here, but some aspects of the country's environment remain quite primitive, according to a new World Bank study.
Countries with simple and straightforward business regulations create more jobs than those with more involved oversight, a World Bank study released on Monday showed.
The report by the bank's private investment promotion arm, the International Finance Corp., said New Zealand, Singapore and the United States were the easiest countries to open and run a local business.
Jamaica ranked 43 of the 155 countries surveyed, putting it immediately ahead of France, ranked 44, and behind Portugal at 42.
TOUGH TAXES
The easiest thing about doing business in the country was starting up, at which Jamaica was ranked in 10th place. The toughest thing about doing business in the country was trying to pay your taxes.
There are few places where this is more onerous, and in this regard Jamaica had a ranking of 141.
The recently started tax reform programme should alleviate this problem area somewhat.
The country was also a very difficult place to get credit, with a rank of 92, according to the study. Registering property, ranked 95, and dealing with licenses, ranked 82, were also troublesome.
The country was ranked 39 in the key areas of hiring and firing, while trading across borders was ranked at 37. Also positive was the 40 rank in terms of enforcing contracts.
For those who choose to give up the battle, the country had a relatively good rank of 24 for closing a business.
REGULATIONS
Poorer countries, particularly in Africa, proved hardest for entrepreneurs because of high business taxes and cumbersome regulations, the 'Doing Business in 2006' study found.
The IFC said complicated regulatory systems often prevent small businesses from expanding into the formal economy, and adding more jobs, and can create opportunities for graft.
"Where regulations are costly and burdensome, businesses often operate in the informal economy - and remain small, creating few jobs," the IFC said.
At the same time, it stressed simpler rules are compatible with labour protections and some government oversight.
Reuters contributed to this report.
