What Are The Best Countries to Do Business In?

There are several reliable sources available that rank individual countries according to the ease in which companies can conduct business in.  The official “ease of doing business index” was created in 2001 by the World Bank for the purpose of identifying countries that offer the most favorable regulations for businesses as well as strong protection of property rights.  Wikipedia states that the World Bank’s index only measures regulations that directly affects business and is not intended to reflect the country’s quality of infrastructure, inflation, or crime.   

Bloomberg and Forbes Magazine also publish a similar yearly list that is based on their own set of criteria in order to rank countries by the best business-friendly practices.  Forbes’ current list was released in December of 2013 and relies on factors such as “property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance.” 

Forbes most recent nomination of Ireland for the number one spot came as a surprise to many as they had been in the the number 6 spot just the year before.  The magazine praises Ireland for having an extremely business-friendly environment that has attracted investors from around the world.  Their low tax burden, investor protection and personal freedom coupled with a common language to Europe all work in their favor.  

Bloomberg used the following criteria to identify the best countries for their 2014 list:  “the degree of economic integration; the cost of setting up a business; the cost of labor and materials; the cost of moving goods; less tangible costs like inflation and the level of corruption; and the health of its consumer base.”  Bloomberg’s 2014 top pick was Hong Kong for the second year in a row.  On their list, the U.S. fell from second to third place based on the high cost of setting up a business. 

Sources:   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ease_of_doing_business_index

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2013/12/04/ireland-heads-forbes-list-of-the-best-countries-for-business/

http://www.bloomberg.com/slideshow/2014-01-21/best-countries-for-business-2014.html#slide2

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