2012年-世界发展银行全球_Doing_Business_Economy_Profile_2012___Costa_Rica_104页_2mb

Doing Business 2012: Costa Rica Summary

Core Content

Doing Business 2012 is an annual report by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation that evaluates the ease of doing business across 183 economies. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 10 key areas of the business life cycle: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

The report provides aggregate rankings, indicator scores, and comparative data to help policymakers understand the regulatory environment and identify areas for reform.

Key Indicators for Costa Rica

Main Findings

• Costa Rica ranks 122nd out of 183 economies in terms of the ease of starting a business.
• It requires 12 procedures, takes 60 days, and costs 11.1% of income per capita.
• The paid-in minimum capital requirement is 0.0%, indicating no initial capital is required.
• The regional average is lower than Costa Rica’s rank, suggesting it is relatively better than its neighbors in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Trends Over Time

• The number of procedures and time to start a business has remained consistent since DB2005.
• The cost has increased slightly from 10.5% in DB2011 to 11.1% in DB2012.
• No major reforms were implemented in DB2010–DB2012, but a digitization reform in DB2009 reduced the time needed.

Methodology Overview

• The ranking is based on the simple average of percentile rankings across the 10 indicators.
• The distance to frontier measure is introduced to assess how much an economy has improved over time compared to the most efficient practices.
• The report focuses on a standardized company (limited liability company in the largest business city), assuming no corruption, no prior contact with officials, and all information is readily available.

Business Environment Highlights

• Starting a Business: 12 procedures, 60 days, 11.1% of income per capita cost, 0.0% paid-in minimum capital.
• Dealing with Construction Permits: 20 procedures, 188 days, 164.5% of income per capita cost.
• Getting Electricity: 5 procedures, 62 days, 299.5% of income per capita cost.
• Registering Property: 5 procedures, 20 days, 3.4% of property value cost.
• Getting Credit: 98th rank, with a strength of legal rights index of 3 and depth of credit information index of 5.
• Protecting Investors: 166th rank, with extent of disclosure index of 2 and strength of investor protection index of 3.
• Paying Taxes: 138th rank, with 31 payments and 246 hours of compliance per year.
• Trading Across Borders: 73rd rank, with 6 documents to export, 13 days, and $1190 per container.
• Enforcing Contracts: 129th rank, with 40 procedures, 852 days, and 24.3% of claim cost.
• Resolving Insolvency: 121st rank, with 3.5 years and 15% of estate cost.

Key Insights

• Costa Rica has made no major reforms in business regulations in the last three years.
• It is relatively close to the frontier in some areas (e.g., registering property) and far in others (e.g., dealing with construction permits).
• The cost to export is $1190 per container, which is higher than the global best performer (Malaysia at $450).
• The ease of starting a business is better than the regional average, but still far from the best performer (New Zealand).
• The time to start a business is 60 days, which is longer than many comparator economies (e.g., Mexico at 9 days).

Recommendations

• Implement reforms to reduce the number of procedures and shorten the time required to start a business.
• Improve transparency and efficiency in construction permits and electricity access.
• Enhance investor protection and legal rights to attract more foreign investment.
• Streamline tax compliance and trade procedures to reduce costs and delays.