This paper estimates the costs of sovereign defaults to a broader extent than has been done in the literature. Applying the synthetic control method to a sample of 131 defaults since 1900, it finds that...
This edition of Women, Business and the Law updates the data for 190 economies to October 1, 2020. It considers reforms of laws and regulations that occurred over the last year and presents analysis of...
This edition of Women, Business and the Law updates the data for 190 economies to October 1, 2020. It considers reforms of laws and regulations that occurred over the last year and presents analysis of...
This paper estimates the survival time of nearly 7,000 firms in a dozen high-income and middle-income countries in a scenario of extreme economic distress, using the World Bank's Enterprises Surveys. Under...
This paper investigates to what extent media impacts political decisions. A viable practical approach to test the relationship between mass media and political actions is through the use of the World Bank’s...
Using panel data for 189 economies from 2005 to 2013, this paper shows that business-friendly regulations are correlated with the poverty headcount at the country level. This association is significant...
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for over 90 percent of firms worldwide. A joint IFC and McKinsey study in 2010 estimated the total number of formal and informal micro, small and medium enterprises...
This paper analyzes data on female and male entrepreneurship that were collected by the World Bank Group's Entrepreneurship Database. Recognizing the importance of a differentiated approach to entrepreneurship...
Several economies have laws that treat women differently from men. This study explores the degree of such legal gender disparities across 167 economies around the world. This is achieved by constructing...
This paper presents new data on electricity connections for businesses in 183 economies. The data cover information on procedures, time, and cost that a small or medium size business with a moderate electricity...
Over the past decade, there has been increased interest in improving business regulations, in part because of the increased availability of data that can inform and monitor those improvements. This paper...
Using a unique firm level data set -- the Enterprise Surveys -- this paper develops a new measure of credit-constrained status for firms using hard data instead of perceptions data. The paper classifies...
The main lesson from women, business and the law 2012 on legal gender inequality when it comes to getting a job is that there is room for improvement in all regions. All regions place restrictions on when...
Using a unique firm level data enterprise surveys the authors develop a new measure of credit constrained status for firms using hard data instead of perceptions data. The authors classify firms into four...
Reforming business regulation takes leadership-more than many other reforms. Committed leaders provide vision, energy and direction to improving business climates, often in the face of daunting challenges...
This report presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees. Several of these indicators draw on the Gender Law Library, a collection of over...
This report presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees. Several of these indicators draw on the Gender Law Library, a collection of over...
The Financial Crisis Survey monitors the effects of the financial crisis on private enterprises. The second wave of data was collected in February and March 2010 covering 1,892 enterprises in Bulgaria...
The latest data of the Financial Crisis Survey show continued negative sales performance, on average, but the general rate of decline seems to have slowed. Permanent employment remained somewhat depressed...
Since late 2008, countries around the world have been affected by the global economic slowdown. The financial crisis survey measures the effects of this crisis on 1,686 firms in six countries in Eastern...