Do business environment reforms encourage informal firms to formalise?
This article examines the role of business environment reform in formalising the informal economy.
Business Environment Reform
Simon White | Specialist in policies and programs for more enabling business environments.
Measuring Donor-Supported Business Environment Reform Results
The Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED) has just published guidance for donor and development agencies on how to measure the results of business environment reform support programmes. I prepared these guidelines along with members of the DCED’s Business Environment Working Group. The guidance can be downloaded from here.
Afrobarometer: After a decade of growth in Africa, poverty continues
Afrobarometer has just released a new policy brief: “After a Decade of Growth in Africa, Little Change in Poverty at the Grassroots”. In it, Boniface Dulani, Robert Mattes and Carolyn Logan present data collected across 34 African countries between October 2011 and June 2013, which demonstrates that “lived poverty” remains
Extending social protection to informal workers
Across Africa, and in many other developing economies around the world, informal enterprises represent the majority of the business sector. While definitions vary, informality generally refers to micro and small enterprises that operate without full compliance with the legal and regulatory framework. They are typically unlicensed and unregistered. They also
A recent debate on regulatory reform
Getting the balance between too much regulation and too little is a challenging job. In my own work, I try to focus more on the quality of regulation and its ultimate effect, rather than simply the number. However, it is clear that there can be too many laws and regulations
Innovation in business registration
Simon White | This article considers improvements in business registration in South Africa.
UK Government’s Better Regulation Manual and Red Tape Challenge
In July 2013 the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published the Better Regulation Framework Manual. This manual is intended for policy-makers, as well as economists, social researchers, lawyers and those specialising in better regulation. It contains guidance for those who are involved in developing or implementing policies