Every year, reports from the World Bank, the OECD and numerous private sector researchers tell us that nations are improving their regulatory environment in terms of reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes for starting a business. However, comprehensive reforms to stimulate startup creation are still relatively hard to find. Will the ever-intensifying global race to build strong startup ecosystems from the bottom-up change this?
That the White House focused on startup legislation in President Obama’s first term is significant. While challenges lie ahead in passing Startup Act 2.0, the legislative successes to date—including the JOBS Act—demonstrate an understanding about the need to look at economic growth through the lens of stimulating more potential high-growth startups. The World Bank’s 2013 Doing Business report has been tracking the progress of more than 180 economies over ten years. It found that countries determined to remove barriers to business creation tend to start with simplifying regulatory processes through changes in administrative procedures and only later move on to more challenging reforms to strengthen legal institutions relevant to business regulation (e.g. in areas such as obtaining credit for startups). These reforms usually require more political commitment since they demand amendments to key pieces of legislation, and therefore the involvement of more powerful branches of government.
To read the original article: Global Prospects for Startup Legislation in 2013 - Entrepreneurship.org
