Global Analysis of General Trade and Operational Licensing
This paper examines the general purpose licensing imposed by central or local authorities, and the need to eliminate unnecessary licensing regulations imposed on businesses. This paper does not address the issue of reform of sector-specific or prof...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
International Finance Corporation, Washington, D.C.
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/188421468339618791/Investment-climate-global-analysis-of-general-trade-and-operational-licensing http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27095 |
| Summary: | This paper examines the general purpose
licensing imposed by central or local authorities, and the
need to eliminate unnecessary licensing regulations imposed
on businesses. This paper does not address the issue of
reform of sector-specific or professional licensing
regulation, but provides criteria and tools for identifying
unnecessary licensing regulations, and their elimination or,
in some instances, for changing licensing regulations to
free notifications. Indeed, this paper argues that a
simplified review of licensing regimes that identifies
unnecessary licensing saves energy and resources for
well-balanced reform of remaining licensing regulations,
eventually providing better protection for the public at
large and a more enabling business environment. This paper
is primarily oriented towards reform practitioners from
governments that intend to reform their business
environments; development agencies; donor-funded projects;
practitioners of licensing reforms; and others interested in
improving state and local governance. This paper is divided
into three parts: (1) overview of licensing practices that
provides common definitions of licensing, analysis of
justified licensing regimes with focus on criteria for their
justification, and theoretical overview of unjustified and
questionable licenses; (2) analysis of commonly declared
functions of unjustified licenses that provides insight into
the nature of these licenses and their typology; and (3)
four case studies that examine how unjustified licenses can
be reformed with examples of unsuccessful, partially
successful, and successful reform efforts. The analytical
conclusions of this paper summarize criteria for unjustified
licenses; describe lessons learned from the reform efforts;
and provide a practical set of recommendations to the
interested parties. |
|---|