To understand how effective countries are in fostering private sector growth and encouraging enterprise contribution, the World Bank produces the Doing Business Indicators, comprising ten measures ranging from the ease with which private companies can pay their taxes to register property.
Which factors stand out for The Bahamas?
These were cited among the indicators for the archipelago in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business. In The Bahamas, greater effort is needed in various indicative categories, such as:
- seeking to improve trading across borders,
- ease the costs and the means of obtaining credit,
- reduce energy costs,
- improve the process for registering property, and
- take greater steps to protect minority investors.
Doing Business Indicators
What are the major ‘bottlenecks’ to private sector output growth and productivity?
- Low employable human skill,
- Socioeconomic impact of rising crime, theft, and disorder on the activity of firms,
- difficulty of accessing finance, and
- governance environment and inefficient electricity generation and distribution
What policy measures will be required to improve productivity, cost competitiveness and spur on economic growth within the archipelago?
Concerted efforts are being made to assist the private sector in the areas of growth, productivity, and cost competitiveness. Efforts could include:
- the re-evaluation of existing labour mobility laws to allow the short-term boosting of the workforce,
- expansion of current programmes by the Bahamas Development Bank and Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund to help reduce the cost of financing and increase access to finance, and
- implementation of the higher energy-efficiency targets in the National Energy Plan to reduce energy costs and disruptions.
To learn more, check out the publication, Ease of Doing Business : The Bahamas.
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