Pakistan’s ranking in the global economy was lowered to 138th despite it improved in its distance to frontier (DTF) score, from 51.62 to 51.69. The country slid in the list of 189 economies of the world, ranked in terms of the ease it offers to entrepreneurs in doing business. Pakistan originally secured 128th position in the global ranking last year, but the World Bank changed its methodology and repositioned the 189 economies. Effectively, Pakistan was re-ranked 136th for last year, meaning the country slid two places as it witnessed an overall deterioration in the regulatory and enabling environment for starting and doing business. The report also gauged the efficacy of the bureaucracy and the nature of business governance, finding Pakistan not doing too well in these areas.
The Doing Business 2016 report is the flagship annual publication of the World Bank Group and is considered as the world’s most influential policy publications. The Doing Business Report 2016 is flagship annual publication and is considered influential in terms of gauging a country’s economic standing. The report might be downplayed by the government, but it gives a sense of what investors have to deal with if they wish to undertake operations in Pakistan. Businesses try all year long to beat the system that is plagued with bureaucratic red tape, bottlenecks, inefficient and unprofessional systems, and corrupt departments. The Board of Investment chairman has said that his department has worked on improving two areas: access to construction permits and enforcing contracts. But what about the other areas mentioned in the index? The government would argue that it had to face months-long sit-ins on its way to the downward slide. But when will it learn that it is the corruption and inefficiency of the system, comprising its own people that have made matters worse. With no accountability system in place, government departments get away with exploiting private sector businesses. This is the reason for the downward slide.
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