countries in Doing Business in 2010. No Middle Eastern country should have a better investment climate by 2007,” said King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2006 (2020 ranking: 62nd). In 2011, Russian President Vladimir Putin set the goal of Russia breaking into the top 20 by 2018, after placing 123rd. (In 2020, it reached a very respectable 28th.) Investment is a zero-sum game: If Country X gets more foreign investment, Country Y will get less. And the EoDB ranking mattered in that calculus. Implementing reforms with the express purpose of keeping up with, or overtaking, the Joneses (in this case, other countries) – even if those measures were good policy anyway – is like studying for a test. The teacher is incentivized to ensure that his students score well on a standardized exam, so his instruction is geared toward that end... rather than the broader aims of (say) training the student to think and inculcating them with a love of learning. But it didn’t matter – if the survey was the whip to bring about change, the World Bank was happy. CHINA’S EODB OBSESSION The Ease of Doing Business index was a mix of research project, national policy prescription, and competitive motivation. And in the global pecking order of the EoDB, China didn’t like where it stood.
Many countries molded their policy and reform priorities in order to improve their position on the various benchmarks of the survey – from “dealing with construction permits” to “protecting minority investors” to “getting credit.” “The World Bank has successfully marshaled the Ease of Doing Business [ranking] to amass considerable influence over business regulations worldwide,” explained an article in the journal International Organization in July 2019. It was a finely tuned, carefully orchestrated snapshot of the factors that shaped the lives and well-being of billions of people... while driving – or being the cause of a rerouting of – untold sums of investment funds. (The Economist reported that an internal World Bank assessment found that the EoDB contributed to the decision-making process for investments by the World Bank in 676 projects worth nearly $16 billion over the past 10 years.) As the Financial Times explained, “Credibility in the unassailability of [the World Bank’s] data is paramount, with billions of dollars of investment every year dependent on its information.” And for politicians, improving the investment environment to move up in the rankings also had a competitive element to it. After all, investment is a zero-sum game: If Country X gets more foreign investment, Country Y will get less. And the EoDB ranking mattered in that calculus. It was also a source of national price. “I want Saudi Arabia to be among the top 10
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