BIAC publishes the results of its 2014 Economic Policy Survey and calls for urgent reduction of the regulatory burden on business.

Confronted with a lacklustre global recovery, the business community looks to policymakers to enforce urgent and decisive policy reforms that will unleash economic growth. In support to these efforts, the BIAC Economic Policy Survey 2014 released today provides business views from 23 countries around the world on their top priorities for reform.

While priorities vary from country-to-country, the majority of respondents call for reforms that will reduce the regulatory burden on companies and on business activities. Such reforms concern for example the transparency of regulation, the scope of state intervention, and the harmonisation of permit and licensing systems.

Other reform priorities also received strong attention, which aim to increase public sector efficiency, improve the efficiency of general taxation, strengthen human capital, and step-up labour utilisation.

“This is a wake-up call for all who want to strengthen our economies and achieve more growth and employment,” commented Dr. Stephan Mumenthaler, Chair of the BIAC Economic Policy Committee. “It is not good enough to develop sound policy advice: governments must take the next step to actually implement the necessary reforms.”

• Business respondents indicate that only 4% of the OECD’s 2013 country-specific reform priorities were fully implemented by February 2014, while 61% are considered to have been partly implemented, and 35% not implemented at all.
• The survey also reveals significant deficiencies in regulatory policy consultations and regulatory impact assessments in many countries.

“To support the reform process, governments need to improve regulatory consultation processes and impact analyses,” said Dr. Mumenthaler. “Crucially, international co-operation is needed to enable companies to operate efficiently and effectively across borders, and this is where the OECD has a particularly important role to play.”

The BIAC survey is available here.

Founded in 1962 as an independent organisation, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) is the officially recognised representative of the OECD business community. BIAC’s members are the major business organisations in the OECD member countries and a number of OECD observer countries.

For more information, contact Maud Garnier, BIAC Communications Manager.

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