PH climbs ranking in ease of doing business index

The Philippines posted the second biggest rank improvement among member economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) in terms of ease of doing business over the last five years, according to state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

According to the PIDS policy note authored by Ronald U. Mendoza, Tristan A. Canare and Alvin P. Ang, the Philippines made the second biggest jump next to Russia as it rose to 95th place from 144th during the 2010 to 2015 period, based on World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking.

In terms of World Bank’s “distance-to-frontier” (DTF) index, the Philippines similarly posted the second biggest improvement next to Russia, according to PIDS.

This index measures the “distance” of an economy from the best performance measured for a particular criterion, and is thus considered “an absolute measure of doing business that, unlike the rankings, does not depend on the performance of other countries.”

Among Apec member economies, Russia posted the largest increase in the DTF score from 54.8 to 66.7, followed by the Philippines (54.3 to 62.1).

Other Apec economies are also faring well in the WB’s ease of doing business survey. Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand retained the top three spots in the survey.

But while the Apec as a group has been doing well, the performance across member-economies varies significantly.

“Some Apec economies are among the top performers in the world, while others are still lagging behind. Better-performing economies could provide support through knowledge transfer to lower-ranked ones. This would not be limited to the Apec Summit, but would be followed through on several occasions,” the policy note read.

Based on the analysis on international good practices, and the initial assessment of the doing business performance of Apec economies, the policy note authors put forward recommendations that may be considered by Apec officials.

For one, Apec is urged to expand the current areas or indicators monitored by the bloc for its member-economies beyond the priority areas, namely, starting a business, dealing with permits, getting credit, trading across borders and enforcing contracts.

“While these areas are crucial in making doing business easier, additional focus on other criteria could also yield strong outcomes, particularly those focused on paying taxes and protecting investors,” authors said.

Apec is also urged to allow a representative from a better-performing country to observe the processes being implemented by the lower-ranked ones, and recommend process improvements; share technology on automation of submission and processing of documents; and conduct a series of workshops but with focus on developing country members.

Lower ranked members are urged to establish a specialized agency that will handle doing business improvement concerns; coordinate with policymakers, government agencies, and businesses; and will propose and study policy reforms, similar to the Philippines’ National Competitiveness Council. Amy R. Remo