Purpose This study aims to investigate the key determinants of ease of doing business (EoDB) and their interdependencies using a graphical approach. Although the World Bank’s Doing Business Report is no longer published, this study draws on its final datasets to examine enduring structural relationships among business regulatory indicators. It aims to identify the most influential factors affecting the EoDB and their relationships, providing policymakers with insights to improve regulatory environments. Design/methodology/approach The research utilizes data from the World Bank Group’s Doing Business Report covering 212 countries. Bayesian belief network (BBN) modeling is applied to analyze the interdependencies among different factors influencing the EoDB. Mutual value of information and scenario analyses are conducted to determine the relative importance of various determinants. Findings The results indicate that starting a business is directly associated with paying taxes, getting electricity and dealing with construction permits. Mutual value of information analysis identifies resolving insolvency as the most informative predictor, followed by protecting minority investors. Scenario analysis reveals that when the indicators such as resolving insolvency, protecting minority investors and getting electricity perform well, the probability of achieving high performance in EoDB approaches 100%. Conversely, poor performance in getting electricity, trading across borders, getting credit and dealing with construction permits is strongly correlated with low performance in EoDB. Originality/value This study provides a novel application of BBN modeling to assess the interdependencies among EoDB factors. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers by identifying key regulatory areas that can enhance business environments. The study’s approach contributes to a more data-driven understanding of business regulatory reforms and highlights priority areas for future research.
Abroon Qazi (Fri,) studied this question.