Manufacturing Needs the Right Policies to Drive Competitiveness

The U.S. Is Not the Easiest Country to Do Business In

The World Bank performs a comprehensive analysis of structural costs to start and conduct a business in virtually every country in the world. Not surprisingly, advanced economies receive high rankings; these nations are rich for a reason, and they have rules and institutions that make opening a new business relatively fast and cheap, in turn promoting innovation and job creation. They have comparatively flexible labor and capital markets that constantly reallocate resources based on consumer preferences and overall spending patterns.

The United States is high on the list but it is not at the top. We currently rank seventh in terms of the ease of doing business, behind Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Denmark, South Korea, and Norway. Notably, Hong Kong has moved up four places since 2005.