Place Based Economic Development with Simon White

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Business Environment Reform

Simon White | Specialist in policies and programs for more enabling business environments.

Extending social protection to informal workers

Across Africa, and in many other developing economies around the world, informal enterprises represent the majority of the business sector. While definitions vary, informality generally refers to micro and small enterprises that operate without full compliance with the legal and regulatory framework. They are typically unlicensed and unregistered. They also

A recent debate on regulatory reform

Getting the balance between too much regulation and too little is a challenging job. In my own work, I try to focus more on the quality of regulation and its ultimate effect, rather than simply the number. However, it is clear that there can be too many laws and regulations

Innovation in business registration

Simon White | This article considers improvements in business registration in South Africa.

UK Government’s Better Regulation Manual and Red Tape Challenge

In July 2013 the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published the Better Regulation Framework Manual. This manual is intended for policy-makers, as well as economists, social researchers, lawyers and those specialising in better regulation. It contains guidance for those who are involved in developing or implementing policies that

Lebanon's business environment

A perspective on Lebanon’s business environment that draws largely from the World Bank’s Doing Business indicators: “The red lines in the Lebanese flag extend to its business environment“. In a linked article, the broader concerns of political instability are raised. It brings up the common question regarding the

New guidelines on industrial policy and business environment reform

The Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED) has just published guidelines for donor and development agencies on how to complement business environment reforms with industrial policy. I was the principal author of this document, which was based on a background paper and on broad consultation with members of the DCED

Re-regulating business licensing in South Africa

In March and April this year, the South African Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its minister, Rob Davies, found themselves in a storm of protest over the attempt to introduce a new law on business licensing – Government Notice 231 of 2013. Critics of the draft bill complained it