BUDAPEST, April 20, 2016 — A new study will evaluate local business regulations affecting domestic firms in 7 Hungarian cities, announced the World Bank Group and the Hungarian Ministry for National Economy today. The cities being measured include Budapest, Debrecen, Gyõr, Miskolc, Pécs, Szeged, and Székesfehérvár.
The report—set to be released in spring 2017—will analyze business regulations and identify good practices in five ease of doing business topics: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, and enforcing contracts. The project, funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy, will include five other European Union member states—Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia.
The subnational study builds on the World Bank Group’s annual flagship Doing Business report and will examine the experience of small to midsize domestic firms in the selected cities. The analysis will recommend reforms based on examples from Hungary and 188 other economies, measured by the global Doing Business report. The results will support all levels of government in their reform processes to improve the ease of doing business across Hungary.
“We hope that the Subnational Doing Business study will encourage an active dialogue on the importance of the business regulatory environment for economic growth, and will empower policymakers with data to improve the business environment at the local level” said Elisabetta Capannelli, World Bank Manager for Romania and Hungary. “By assessing select cities across Hungary, local and national authorities will have the relevant data and good practices that they can draw from to replicate successful experiences in other settings.”
The Subnational and Regional Doing Business reports capture differences in business regulations and their enforcement across locations in a single country or region. The reports provide data on the ease of doing business in selected areas, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve the business climate at the local level in each area. Since 2005, the World Bank Group’s subnational Doing Business projects have benchmarked 437 cities in 65 countries.
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About the World Bank Group
The World Bank Group plays a key role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. It consists of five institutions: the World Bank, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA); the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Working together in more than 100 countries, these institutions provide financing, advice, and other solutions that enable countries to address the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org, www.miga.org, and ifc.org.
The World Bank Group has deepened its partnership with Hungary in particular since 2012 when a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Bank was signed for the provision of advisory services. IBRD provided technical assistance through two advisory services agreements on pension reform and social inclusion. This assistance was complemented by IFC’s partnership with the Hungarian Exim Bank on provision of IFC advisory work, and MIGA’s provision of guarantees for Exim Bank-issued bonds. Hungary benefited from other analytical and advisory work as part of regional studies and assessments, including on social inclusion and labor market.
