Belarus: A Top Reformer

Earlier this year, the government of Belarus publicly announced its goal to enter the top quintile of the Doing Business ranking. The government was determined to overhaul its business regulatory framework from the get-go.

In January, it held a series of extensive consultations with experts from the Doing Business team. The team explained its methodology in great detail and offered a set of recommendations on what to reform and how. The government of Belarus took its homework seriously and pledged to pass 63 regulations aiming to ease business regulations in the country in the first half of the year.

Many were skeptical about the government’s ambitious plan. They claimed the promises wouldn’t translate into action, and even if they do, they won’t be far-reaching. Eight months later the Doing Business 2009 report announced Belarus as the #4 global reformer in 2007-8. The county jumped 30 places up to the 85th spot from last year’s 115th and reformed in 6 out of 10 areas of business regulations measured by the Doing Business report. We recently traveled to Belarus to launch the report there and highlight Belarus' top reformer achievement.

Fifth the year in a row Eastern Europe and Central Asia is leading the world in Doing Business reforms. Twenty-six of the region’s 28 economies implemented a total of 69 reforms this year. This year Belarus joined the club because it realized that it needs to move in that direction to maintain its competitiveness in the regional and international markets. Therefore, it should be no surprise to anybody if more countries pick up this pace of reform in the region.