An economy cannot thrive without a healthy private sector. When local businesses flourish, they create jobs and generate income that can be spent and invested domestically. Any rational government that cares about the economic well-being and advancement of its constituency pays special attention to laws and regulations affecting local small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). Effective business regulation affords micro and small firms the opportunity to grow, innovate and, when applicable, move from the informal to the formal sector of an economy. Like its 15 predecessors, Doing Business 2019 continues to enable regulators to assess and benchmark their domestic business regulatory environments.

Doing Business advocates for both regulatory quality and efficiency. It is important to have effective rules in place that are easy to follow and understand. To realize economic gains, reduce corruption and encourage SMEs to flourish, unnecessary red tape should be eliminated. However, specific safeguards must be put in place to ensure high-quality business regulatory processes; efficiency alone is not enough for regulation to function well. What use is it when one can transfer property in just a few days and at a low cost, but the property registry contains unreliable information with incomplete geographic coverage?