Barriers and Opportunities for Enhancing Capital Flows
In the COMCEC Member Countries
87
OIC countries:
Doing Business covers 53 of the 57 countries analysed in this study. Of the OIC countries
Malaysia is the best ranked, in the 12th position out of 185 countries. It is followed by Saudi
Arabia (22nd ), UAE (26 th), Qatar (40th) and Bahrain (42nd). These OIC countries are, similarly,
the top ranked of the group in the Global Competitiveness Index. Some OIC countries are also
at the bottom of the global ranking, specifically, Benin, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-
Bissau and Chad are within the last 10 positions.
Global Competitiveness Report vs. Doing Business Report:
While both studies essentially look at factors of economic growth, their scope is different.
Doing business is an assessment specifically focusing on the details of regulations affecting
businesses. Global Competitiveness Index focuses on the long term drivers of economic growth
and encompasses dimensions that go beyond the institutional or regulatory, considering
infrastructure, human capital and broader considerations of the environment such as
macroeconomic performance, innovation, technology and market development.
The Economist Intelligence Unit – Business Environment Rankings
The business rankings model examines ten separate criteria or categories, covering the
political environment, the macroeconomic environment, market opportunities, policy towards
free enterprise and competition, policy towards foreign investment, foreign trade and
exchange controls, taxes, financing, the labour market and infrastructure. Each category
contains a number of indicators which are assessed by the Economist Intelligence Unit for the
last five years and the next five years.
Almost half of the indicators are based on quantitative from national and international
statistical sources, while the other indicators are qualitative in and are drawn from a range of
data sources and business surveys, frequently adjusted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, for
2008-2012. All forecasts for the qualitative indicators covering 2013-2017 are based on
Economist Intelligence Unit assessments.
Indicators are scored on a scale from 1 (very bad for business) to 5 (very good for business).
Aggregate category scores are derived on the basis of simple or weighted averages of the
indicator scores within a given category.
OIC countries:
Though the BER individual ratings are not combined into a single index by calculating a simple
average of 5 relevant areas (market opportunities, macroeconomic environment, financing,
foreign trade and exchange regime and policy environment for foreign investment)89 it is
possible to establish that those some of the countries rated highest by the EIU are also the best
performers in the two previously discussed indexes (Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi
Arabia, Malaysia and Brunei). 23 of the analysed OIC countries are covered by the BER.
89 See attached table