Business regulation

Stock markets are markets in which stocks are traded. They can be either organized physical facilities or simply informal mediums of transactions through which company stocks can be bought and sold. The legal aspect of their development, on the other hand, encompasses the development of all laws necessary for the well-functioning of stock markets like company laws, law of securities, laws regulating stock markets themselves, competition laws, etc.

Stock market development is associated with the beginning of corporate entities, particularly share companies. The 1st ever formal stock market is believed to be established in 1611 in Amsterdam following the formation of various share companies in the country.  In the USA, the first stock exchange, the New York stock exchange, was established in the 18th century at Wall Street. Then, stock markets expanded to the Western Europe and Asia. In Africa, formal stock markets are post independent phenomenon. In Ethiopia, they are recently ongoing developments that they are neither organized nor well regulated.

In this term paper, we shall explain the concept of securities market in general and stock markets in particular and then examine the legal aspects of stock market development in Ethiopia.

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Using objective measures of business regulations in 135 countries, we establish that countries with better regulations grow faster. Improving from the worst quartile of business regulations to the best implies a 2.3 percentage point increase in annual growth.

Using objective measures of business regulations in 135 countries, we establish that countries with better regulations grow faster. Improving from the worst quartile of business regulations to the best implies a 2.3 percentage point increase in annual growth.

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

The author thanks Donald Patrick Canavaggio for research assistance and translation, and gratefully acknowledges Enrique Arturo de Obarrio, who not only shared his vision of a certification process for decisionmaking in morally ambiguous circumstances but who also serves as a model of moral courage in Panama. Mr. de Obarrio is currently the President of the Asociaci6n Panamefia de Ejecutivos de Empresa [hereinafter APEDE], and for three years presided over APEDE's Ethics and Civic Affairs Commission.

The papers in this collection have been selected by peer review from the presentations made at a conference in September 2002 entitled Current issues in regulation: enforcement and compliance, convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology in conjunction with the Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet) at the Australian National University, and the Division of Business and Enterprise at the University of South Australia.

The conclusions and judgments contained in this report should not be attributed to, and do not necessarily represent, the views of the World Bank or its Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of its use.

Analysis in the Financial and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency, where her team manages the Doing Business Report and other business environment indicators. She has over 20 years of experience in private sector-oriented policy reform, including 16 years with the World Bank Group.

Reforming business regulation takes leadership-more than many other reforms. Committed leaders provide vision, energy and direction to improving business climates, often in the face of daunting challenges. Some of the case studies included in this report are: celebrating reform by Simeon Djankov and Caralee Mcliesh; starting a business (quickly) in El Salvador by James Newton, Sylvia Solf, and Adriana Vicentini; how to double business entry in two years by Tom Jersild and Zoran Skopljak; employing Macedonia's youth by Adam Larson, Kiril Minoski, and Janet Morris; protecting investors from self-dealing by Melissa Johns and Jean Michel Lobet; adding a million taxpayers by Rita Ramalho; speeding up trade by Allen Dennis; repairing a car with the engine running by Sabine Hertveldt; and faster, more orderly exit by Justin Yap.

Using objective measures of business regulations in 135 countries, we establish that countries with better regulations grow faster. Improving from the worst quartile of business regulations to the best implies a 2.3 percentage point increase in annual growth.

Understanding what to do about policy reform is the (relatively) easy part, our clients tell us. The hard part is figuring out how to do it. The path to reform is fraught with the details of practical implementation, the challenges of working with stakeholders, and the mammoth task of ensuring that a reform is both effective and politically sustainable. That's why the best sources of wisdom on how to do it are the reformers themselves who have been there and done that. So, during last September's doing business launch in Kigali, Rwanda, the authors were delighted that government colleagues from Mauritius who have successfully implemented reforms offered to host a peer-to-peer learning event for African governments on business regulation reform.

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

This article addresses a gap in the common understanding of corruption. The rules regarding corruption at both the macro-and the micro-level are well known, as are the consequences at the macro-level. The consequences at the micro-level, however, particularly for business firms, are not well understood. With respect to rules, at both the macro-and micro-levels the rules are very clear: do not pay bribes. At the macrolevel the consequences are well known: corruption has devastating effects on societies and economies. Although not often referred to in most corruption literature, the consequences at the micro-level can be discussed. This article begins with the direct and indirect costs imposed on firms that pay bribes. Firms that pay bribes spend more time and money dealing with governments, and bear the costs of distortions of internal resources. The article then examines the negative effects of corruption on existing relationships within the firm and potential relationships with parties outside of the firm. Finally, the article examines potential criminal and civil liability that a firm exposes itself to when it pays bribes. The totality of these costs and liabilities strongly suggest that the consequences for any given firm of paying a bribe would burden rather than benefit the firm.

THE ACHIEVEMENT OF GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE has been a major U.S. and international policy objective in the twenty-first century. In the past few years, both governmental and nongovernmental organizations have proposed, promoted, or adopted measures intended to achieve this objective.' Self-regulatory organizations and standard-setting bodies also have jumped on the bandwagon, as legally compelled actors and as volunteer rule makers.' The flagship example of these efforts is

Over the past year, the response to the global financial crisis has continued to dominate development and the work of international institutions, including the World Bank Group. Challenges of poverty and fragile states, environment, and climate change remain daunting. But the manner in which these are best addressed is shifting. The World Bank Group, a crucial partner in the solutions to global development, must adapt to these changes for greater development effectiveness. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) individually face particular challenges in the increasingly multipolar world. But there are opportunities for coordination across the World Bank Group, whether between public and business activities, among sectors, or across macro and micro concerns. Emphasizing these synergies, part one of this joint ...

State Consumer Protection Acts (CPAs) were designed to supplement the Federal Trade Commission’s mission of protecting consumers and are often referred to as “little-FTC Acts.” There is growing concern that enforcement under these acts is not only qualitatively different than FTC enforcement, but may be counterproductive for consumers. This article examines a sample of CPA claims and compares them to the FTC standard. It identifies qualitative differences between CPA and FTC claims by commissioning a “Shadow Federal Trade Commission” of experts in consumer protection. The study finds that many CPA claims include conduct that would not be illegal under the FTC standards and that most of the cases with illegal conduct would not warrant FTC enforcement. Even among CPA cases where the plaintiff prevailed, nearly half do not include illegal conduct under the FTC standard and most of the cases with illegal conduct would not invoke FTC enforcement. The results clearly suggest private litig...

Reforms are on the rise Reforms to make it easier for businesses to operate are on the rise. In 2005-06, 213 reforms took place in 112 countries. This compares to 185 reforms in 99 countries in 2004-05. And 89 reforms in 58 countries in 2003-04. Four reasons explain the upswing. First, the collapse of socialism and the entry of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in the world economy. Over the last decade, this region has led in reforms (figure 1). This is not surprising: the environment for doing business in the private sector was difficult so a lot had to be changed.

In the past three decades several states in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the Eastern Caribbean and in Europe (and other states as well) have used forms of outsourcing, usually to regional organizations, as a means to reduce the cost and increase the quality of some public services. The strategy followed in this paper is to study the conditions that facilitate the outsourcing of some public service provision, the governance structure ruling the relationship between the source and the client government and the actual performance of these agreements through the experience of several regional institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa and in the Eastern Caribbean. The second section of the paper describes the characteristics of fragile states and provides indicators of the quality of institutions. The third section describes eight experiences of outsourcing in Sub-Saharan Africa and in the Eastern Caribbean. The fourth section analyzes historical, cultural, technical and economic reasons that have co...

Reforms are on the rise Reforms to make it easier for businesses to operate are on the rise. In 2005-06, 213 reforms took place in 112 countries. This compares to 185 reforms in 99 countries in 2004-05. And 89 reforms in 58 countries in 2003-04. Four reasons explain the upswing. First, the collapse of socialism and the entry of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in the world economy. Over the last decade, this region has led in reforms (figure 1). This is not surprising: the environment for doing business in the private sector was difficult so a lot had to be changed.

Introduction: The 2012 Doing Business (DB) Report lauds Morocco as the country that has achieved the biggest improvement in its ranking in 2011. The acknowledgment of the country's performance reflects a spectacular 21 place jump in its overall rank to 94, underpinning improvements and advances in four out of the 10 categories in the Doing Business Index: 1) Dealing with construction permits. Morocco made dealing with construction permits easier by opening a one-stop shop, reducing the time needed for obtaining permits from 104 to 97 days 2) Easing tax compliance. Morocco eased the administrative burden of paying taxes for firms by enhancing electronic filing and payment of corporate income tax and value added tax-time needed to pay taxes decreased by 34 percent. 3) Protecting investors. Legal protection of small investors in areas related to rules for disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of shareholder suits, is necessary for growth and capital formation. Morocco made progress in this area by passing legislation that allows minority shareholders to obtain any non-confidential corporate documents during trial.

State Consumer Protection Acts (CPAs) were designed to supplement the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) mission of protecting consumers and are often referred to as" Little-FTC Acts." There is growing concern that enforcement under these acts is not only qualitatively different than FTC enforcement but may also be counterproductive for consumers. This Article examines a sample of CPA claims and compares them to the FTC standard. It identifies qualitative differences between CPA and FTC claims by ...