2012年-世界发展银行全球_Doing_Business_Economy_Profile_2013___Iceland_111页_1mb

Iceland Economy Profile - Doing Business 2013

Core Content Overview

The Doing Business 2013 report provides an analysis of the business environment in Iceland, focusing on regulations affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It measures and tracks changes in regulations across 11 areas of the business life cycle, including starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and employing workers. The report compares Iceland with other economies and provides data on the ease of doing business and regulatory reforms.

Key Indicators and Performance

Overall Business Environment

• DB2013 Rank: 14
• DB2012 Rank: 13 (adjusted for data corrections and new economies added)
• Change in Rank: -1
• Ease of Doing Business Index: Iceland ranks 14th globally, indicating a relatively favorable regulatory environment for SMEs.

Business Regulation Indicators

Getting Electricity

• DB2013 Rank: 1
• Procedures (number): 4
• Time (days): 22
• Cost (% of income per capita): 14.9
• Best Performer: Germany (3)

Registering Property

• DB2013 Rank: 9
• Procedures (number): 3
• Time (days): 4
• Cost (% of property value): 2.4
• Best Performer: Georgia (1)

Getting Credit

• DB2013 Rank: 40
• Strength of Legal Rights Index: 7
• Depth of Credit Information Index: 5
• Best Performer: United Kingdom (1)

Protecting Investors

• DB2013 Rank: 49
• Extent of Disclosure Index: 7
• Ease of Shareholder Suits Index: 6
• Strength of Investor Protection Index: 6.0
• Best Performer: New Zealand (1)

Paying Taxes

• DB2013 Rank: 41
• Payments (number per year): 29
• Time (hours per year): 140
• Best Performer: United Arab Emirates (1)

Trading Across Borders

• DB2013 Rank: 82
• Documents to Export (number): 5
• Time to Export (days): 19
• Cost to Export (US$ per container): 1,465
• Best Performer: Singapore (1)

Enforcing Contracts

• DB2013 Rank: 3
• Time (days): 417
• Cost (% of claim): 8.2
• Best Performer: Luxembourg (1)

Resolving Insolvency

• DB2013 Rank: 11
• Time (years): 1.0
• Cost (% of estate): 4
• Best Performer: Japan (1)

Main Viewpoints and Key Information

Ease of Doing Business

• Iceland is ranked 14th globally, indicating a favorable regulatory environment for SMEs.
• The Ease of Doing Business Index measures the ease of doing business across 11 areas, with Iceland performing well in some areas and needing improvement in others.
• The Distance to Frontier measure is introduced to assess how far an economy is from the best practices in each indicator.

Business Regulation Reforms

• Iceland has not implemented significant business regulation reforms in the past few years as measured by Doing Business.
• The report emphasizes the importance of streamlining procedures, introducing technology, and reducing or eliminating minimum capital requirements to improve the business environment.

Comparative Performance

• Iceland performs better than many comparator economies in several areas, such as getting electricity and registering property.
• In other areas, such as protecting investors and resolving insolvency, Iceland lags behind, particularly compared to New Zealand and Singapore.

Data and Methodology

• The report includes data for the period up to June 1, 2012, with the exception of paying taxes, which covers the period January-December 2011.
• The methodology assumes that all information is readily available, no prior contact with officials, and no bribes.
• The standardized company is used as a reference for data collection, with assumptions about the type of business, location, and size.

Importance of the Report

• The Doing Business report is a valuable tool for policymakers, helping them identify areas for reform and benchmark their performance against other economies.
• It provides quantitative indicators that can be used to analyze economic outcomes and the impact of regulatory reforms.

Summary of Business Procedures in Iceland

Starting a Business

• Procedures (number): 5
• Time (days): 5
• Cost (% of income per capita): 3.0
• Paid-in Minimum Capital (% of income per capita): 11.5

Dealing with Construction Permits

• Procedures (number): 18
• Time (days): 77
• Cost (% of income per capita): 27.4

Getting Electricity

• Procedures (number): 4
• Time (days): 22
• Cost (% of income per capita): 14.9

Registering Property

• Procedures (number): 3
• Time (days): 4
• Cost (% of property value): 2.4

Getting Credit

• Strength of Legal Rights Index: 7
• Depth of Credit Information Index: 5
• Public Registry Coverage (% of adults): 0.0
• Private Bureau Coverage (% of adults): 100.0

Protecting Investors

• Extent of Disclosure Index: 7
• Ease of Shareholder Suits Index: 6
• Strength of Investor Protection Index: 6.0

Paying Taxes

• Payments (number per year): 29
• Time (hours per year): 140

Trading Across Borders

• Documents to Export (number): 5
• Time to Export (days): 19
• Cost to Export (US$ per container): 1,465

Enforcing Contracts

• Procedures (number): 27
• Time (days): 417
• Cost (% of claim): 8.2

Resolving Insolvency

• Time (years): 1.0
• Cost (% of estate): 4
• Outcome: 1 (going concern)

Conclusion

The Doing Business 2013 report highlights Iceland's relatively strong performance in several areas of the business life cycle, particularly getting electricity and registering property. However, it also identifies areas where improvements are needed, such as protecting investors and resolving insolvency. The report serves as a useful tool for policymakers to assess the regulatory environment and identify potential reforms that could enhance the ease of doing business in Iceland.