Розглянуто теоретичне підґрунтя рейтингу Світового банку Doing Business, критично проаналізовано його методологію. Оцінено спроможність рейтингу бути показником якості державного регулювання у сфері господарювання. Сформульовано авторське бачення реальної значущості рейтингу для регуляторних реформ в Україні.
Рассмотрены теоретические основы рейтинга Всемирного банка Doing Business, критически проанализирована его методология. Оценена способ-ность рейтинга выступать показателем качества государственного регу-лирования в сфере хозяйствования. Сформулировано авторское видение реальной значимости рейтинга для регуляторных реформ в Украине.
In 2014 Ukraine scored a significantly higher ranking in the World Bank Doing Business rating than ever before. But doubts were cast as to its capability to reflect objectively the quality of regulatory reform.
Despite of the fact that DB"s indexes have been widely publicized by the media, heavily promoted as performance scores and often used for motivating policy and defining "best practices", its methodology really has significant drawbacks. Namely, the Starting Business index incurs five sets of failures:
1) Distorted reform priorities, as it only considers the costs incurred by entrepre-neurs for the initi&al formalization of a company, disregarding all other costs, espe-cially the value of such formalization services;
2) The exclusive focus on the ex ante cost of business formalization and mandatory procedures, which impedes considering the tradeoff &between ex ante and ex post costs, including the reduction in future transaction and administrative costs;
3) Insensitivity to local specifics, as its emphasis on the average cost of a specific transaction (the incorporation of a mid-size, limited l&iability company) favors capital-intensive solutions;
4) Mistakes in evaluation and measurement distort judgment, as it repeatedly proclaims as successful reforms that are plain failures or exist only on paper (window-dressing reform);
5) Doing B&usiness" marketing promotes misguided reforms and rent-seeking.
To my opinion, the Doing Business" ranking can"t serve as a comprehensive indicator of the regulatory reform quality. It should be seen only as one of the many descriptors in a broad i&nstitutional context. Similarly, regulatory simplification shouldn"t be seen as a substitute for a full-scale regulatory reform.
