Voices of the Firms 2000: Investment Climate and Governance Findings of the World Business Environment Survey (WBES)

Abstract

A set of enterprise data are presented, based on a survey of more than 10,000 firms in 80 countries that was carried out between late 1999 and mid 2000. In addition to the data, detailed explanations and the core questionnaire are provided in this paper, as well as a presentation of key findings across regions and firm characteristics. The specificity of the questions posed to firms permits an empirical unbundling of the types of constraints faced by enterprises. Basic econometric analysis of these data suggests that taxes and regulations, financing, governance and other business constraints matter significantly in explaining a firm’s performance and behavior. Further, there is a large variance in the extent of business and governance constraints across countries, regions, and type of firms, suggesting the need for caution when averaging across broad categories. Listening to firms contributes significantly to assessing the climate for business, investment, and governance in a country, and warrants institutiona lization of periodic worldwide enterprise survey efforts.

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