The Manual and Guide presents the protocols, processes, safeguards, and resources related to the end-to-end production of the B-READY data and reports. It presents the basis for transparency, quality, and integrity of the B-READY project.
Business Ready (B-READY) is an international benchmarking project developed by the World Bank Group. B-READY provides a quantitative assessment of the business environment for private sector development, published annually and covering most economies worldwide. B-READY data and summary report aim to advocate for policy reform, inform specific policy advice, and provide data for development policy research. Through its focus on private sector development, B-READY contributes to meeting the World Bank Group’s twin goals of eliminating poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
B Ready assesses the economy’s business environment by focusing on the regulatory framework and the provision of related public services for firms and markets, as well as the efficiency with which they are combined in practice. Within each topic, considerations relevant to the business environment regarding aspects of the adoption of digital technology, environmental sustainability, and gender are captured. B-READY collects both de jure information and de facto measures. While de jure data is collected from expert consultations, de facto data is collected from both expert consultations and firm surveys.
B-READY’s topics are organized following the life cycle of the firm and its participation in the market: opening, operating (or expanding), and closing (or reorganizing) a business. The 10 topics in B-READY are Business Entry, Business Location, Utility Services, Labor, Financial Services, International Trade, Taxation, Dispute Resolution, Market Competition, and Business Insolvency
Dispute Resolution:
The justice system has been concerned with one of the main indicators of B Ready program which is Dispute Resolution. Adverse economic outcomes for the private sector, ranging from reduced entrepreneurial activity and lower investment to macroeconomic volatility, can arise when these disputes cannot be adequately resolved. This makes a well-functioning dispute resolution system essential for a healthy business environment. Such a system requires efficiency and quality.
Having time- and cost-effective mechanisms for resolving disputes is critical because excessively long and expensive proceedings may defeat the very purpose of bringing a case to official institutions, making formal dispute resolution unattractive and unaffordable. In fact, correlations have been established between judicial efficiency and facilitated entrepreneurial activity. Evidence also suggests that under a more effective court system businesses are likely to have greater access to finance and borrow more. In addition, expeditious judiciaries are associated with higher levels of domestic and foreign investment. When investors know that in case of non-performance of an obligation their claim will be considered in a timely manner, they may have more incentives to increase investment. Also, enhancing the efficiency of the judiciary may strengthen competition and foster innovation.
Dispute resolution adopts the following three basic pillars:
• Regulatory framework for dispute resolution (court litigation and alternative dispute resolution)
• Public dispute resolution services (institutional framework and simplification, digital transformation, transparency, arbitration and mediation services)
• Effectiveness and ease of the judicial system (reliability, time and cost, recognition and enforcement).
This indicator also focuses on three important areas of development that must be available in all indicators, namely- Digital adoption, Environmental sustainability, and Gender.
The standards focus on the largest business city, specifically in our case the capital “Amman” and directly on the work of the Court of First Instance, Appeal and enforcement for commercial disputes, in addition to the work of international and local commercial arbitration institutions, official and private mediation and amicable settlement institutions, if available, furthermore, focus on the processes of enforcement of foreign judgments, foreign and domestic arbitration.
The benefits of the B-READY program to countries are numerous as shown below:
Assessment of Business and Investment Environment: The program provides an annual assessment of the business and investment climates in 180 economies worldwide2. This helps countries understand their strengths and weaknesses in these areas.
Benchmarking Initiative: The B-READY team conducted a series of two-day methodology workshops worldwide. These workshops served to raise awareness about this new benchmarking initiative and disseminate its potential for reform advocacy, policy advice, and development research.
Transparency, Quality, and Integrity: The B-READY presents the protocols, processes, safeguards, and resources related to the end-to-end production of the B-READY data and reports. It presents the basis for transparency, quality, and integrity of the B-READY project.
Detailed Measurement Methodology: The Methodology describes the project’s detailed measurement methodology. This helps countries understand how their business and investment environments are being assessed.
Reform Advocacy: The data generated by B-READY can be used for reform advocacy, helping countries make necessary changes to improve their business and investment climates.
Policy Advice: The data can also be used for policy advice, providing guidance on what policies might be most effective in improving a country’s business and investment environment.
Development Research: Finally, the data is a valuable resource for development research, contributing to our understanding of what works in economic development.