Posted by Molly Nelson -
You're the Boss over at the New York Times points to this great finding from the World Bank's 2008 Entrepreneurship Survey.
Money quote:
"After accounting for differences in per capita income across countries, the World Bank researchers found that countries with easier and less expensive procedures for registering new businesses have higher rates of new business creation."
Oh! Anyone else see that lightbulb?
Likewise, "in countries where it is harder to start a new business, rates of new-business entry are lower. (The United States ranked sixth in ease of doing business among the countries in the study.)"
In stressing these survey findings, I don't mean to be flip. While looking at them likely causes a response of "well, that makes sense," often we (and more importantly, those that develop policies and procedures) can forget that sometimes it is the simple solution that makes the biggest difference.
[For more:
You're the Boss,
The World Bank]