What gets measured gets done. Over the past 15 years, the Doing Business report has encapsulated this principle. Anchored in rigorous research and methodology, Doing Business gathers detailed and objective data on 11 areas of business regulation. The report measures complex regulatory processes by zeroing in on their quantifiable components, which can be contested, compared—over time and across economies—and, ultimately, reformed. Since its launch in 2003, Doing Business has inspired more than 3,500 reforms in the 10 areas of business regulation measured by the report. This year, in the Doing Business 2019 report, wedocument a peak in reform activity worldwide—128 economies undertook a record 314 reforms in 2017/18. While Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the most reforms (as it has been since2012), this year’s 10 top improvers include a range of economies—large and small, rich and poor—from five regions, showing that that virtually any economy can improve business regulation when policymakers have the will. This podcast is first in the Doing Business Learning Series, and presents the overall results for Doing Business 2019. The subsequent webinars will focus on each of the 11 Doing Business indicators, covering topics from Starting a Business to Labor Market Regulations. These weekly indicator webinars will be broadcast between January 9 – March 20, 2019, and offer a deep dive into each indicator, explaining what is measured, why it matters, what are the results and what are the good practices. view less