Saudi: easy to do business? 20, September 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Saudi Arabia.Tags: Doing business ratings Saudi Arabia, Ease of doing business, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia doing business
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As I tactfully alluded to in an earlier post, the recent trend of Saudi Arabia’s high rankings in various global competitiveness type rankings is absurd. Indeed, their latest rating of 13th in the world (top in the Middle East) in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business‘ Survey is a classic example of their absurdly over-inflated placing.
An excellent new blog that I’ve just stumbled upon elucidates just how absurd these kinds of ratings are in an interesting post I commend you to read.
Whilst I’m not sure that I’d legally want to suggest that the authors of these various polls and surveys are being bribed (though I allegedly wouldn’t be surprised) there remains the real question of just how they are so odds they are with reality. Answers on a postcard.
The Gulf blog 
Thank you for the kind words. Yes, anyone blogging under their real name would not want to assert that Saudi Arabia bribed the World Bank, for all sorts of reasons regarding personal civil and criminal liability.
I also do not say that’s the case — but I can tell you that many people wonder this openly, and it’s easier for me to ask the question as someone engaged in work that covers the Middle East, and who blogs anonymously.
If KSA is not bribing the world bank, then we have to ask just what you imply — why is the World Bank survey so at odds with reality? There really is no other objectively reasonable motivation.