The World Bank report the BRICS hate
The World Bank has just released its annual Doing Business report, which assesses countries in terms of their openness to business activity. The report grades countries on an array of factors including government regulation, corruption, dispute resolution, and access to necessary services and then assigns them an overall ranking. Singapore retained its hold on the ...
The World Bank has just released its annual Doing Business report, which assesses countries in terms of their openness to business activity. The report grades countries on an array of factors including government regulation, corruption, dispute resolution, and access to necessary services and then assigns them an overall ranking. Singapore retained its hold on the top spot this year, and the United States was fourth. The report identified Morocco as most improved and also highlighted key improvements in Colombia, South Korea, and Macedonia.
The World Bank has just released its annual Doing Business report, which assesses countries in terms of their openness to business activity. The report grades countries on an array of factors including government regulation, corruption, dispute resolution, and access to necessary services and then assigns them an overall ranking. Singapore retained its hold on the top spot this year, and the United States was fourth. The report identified Morocco as most improved and also highlighted key improvements in Colombia, South Korea, and Macedonia.
One thing that did not change significantly was the poor performance of the BRICS: China fell four spots to 91st. Russia was ranked 120th, and Brazil came in at 126. India brought up the rear at 132. Only new BRICS member South Africa did creditably, ranking 35th. In previous years, BRICS representatives at the World Bank have argued that the report is fatally flawed and have even suggested that the Bank disassociate itself from the entire project. Their complaints range from the methodological (allegations of a bias in favor of small countries) to the ideological (Brazil’s World Bank representative told me last year that the report fetishizes deregulation).
This year’s results appear likely to stoke that discomfort. And with the BRICS growing more powerful at the Bank and the Fund, the complaints may soon become hard to ignore.
David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist
More from Foreign Policy
Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America
The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.
The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense
If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.
Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War
Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.
How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests
And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.
Sign up for Morning Brief
Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter with what’s coming up around the world today. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
