Bachelet is calling for a full investigation of the World Bank’s ratings system, noting that such a financial monitoring apparatus “should be trustworthy, since they impact investment and countries’ development.” Chilean Economy Minister Jorge Rodriguez Grossi said in a statement that “it is rare to see action this immoral.” Some Chilean officials have suggested that the country’s poor Doing Business ranking might have been a factor in the conservative Piñera’s successful campaign to regain the presidency last month.
The Wall Street Journal article extensively quotes the former director of Doing Business, Augusto Lopez-Claros, currently on leave from the Bank, who vigorously defends the report. Prior to heading the team that prepares Doing Business, Lopez-Claros had a career at the International Monetary Fund, Lehman Brothers, and the University of Chile.
Before Romer’s harsh attack, much of the criticism of Doing Business has focused on an earlier labor indicator that gave best scores to countries with highly deregulated labor markets. Having no minimum wage laws, for example, garnered a higher score. Contrary to what Doing Business repeatedly asserted, the World Bank’s own research has found that in most cases labor market deregulation does not improve economic outcomes.
In the face of strong pressure from trade unions, the report dropped the labor market flexibility indicator in 2010, but it continues to give worse rankings to countries that mandate higher levels of taxation and social contributions from business.
This year’s 300-page Doing Business 2018 also made unfounded claims that more “business friendly” regulations are key to lowering income inequality. The report notes that the 20 countries receiving their best (i.e. most business-friendly) scores — almost all of which are advanced economies — have a lower Gini coefficient than the 20 countries that receive the worst scores.