NEW! Jacobs speaks at USAID Economic Growth Workshop, October 2007

The 2007 USAID Economic Growth Officers Workshop, held on 15-19 October 2007 in Washington, D.C., discussed current developments in strategies for economic growth. Scott Jacobs, pictured here, spoke on the results of the Regulatory Guillotine™ around the world.  The conference agenda and photos can be found here: http://www.egworkshop2007.net/agenda.htm

NEW! RIA Book Features Jacobs and Cordova

Scott Jacobs and Cesar Cordova wrote chapters for the new 2007 book, Regulatory Impact Assessment: Towards Better Regulation? Published by Edward Elgar (Edited by Colin Kirkpatrick, Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM) and Co-Director, Regulation Research Programme, Centre on Regulation and Competition (CRC), University of Manchester, UK and David Parker, Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University, UK and Co-Director, Regulation Research Programme, Centre on Regulation and Competition (CRC), University of Manchester, UK). Jacobs wrote a chapter titled, “Current Trends in the Process and Methods of Regulatory Impact Analysis: Mainstreaming RIA into Policy Processes, and Cordova wrote a chapter on “Regulatory Impact Assessment in Mexico.” Buy the book at http://www.e-elgar.co.uk/Bookentry_contents.lasso?id=3846.

NEW! Republika Srpska Cuts 28% and Simplifies 43% of Business Formalities with
the Regulatory Guillotine™ July 2006

Republika Srpska (RS) in Bosnia-Herzegovina completed the first phase of its Regulatory Guillotine™ in July 2006, with the assistance of Jacobs and Associates working with Chemonics. As reported in regional newspapers, "The RS Council for Regulatory Reform stated during its session on 28 July in Banja Luka that it is necessary to annul one third and change half of its regulations to improve the business environment in the RS. These reforms
affect regulations affecting the business sector. RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik who is Chair of the Council announced the annulling of 37 acts of the RS Government and changes to 31 laws in the process known as "regulatory guillotine". Dodik said, "In regard to certificates, permits and other formalities, totalling 332 on RS level and 19 on BiH level, the Council has
accepted suggestions of working groups...to preserve 102 formalities or 29.6%, to change 43% of formalities, and to annul 27.9%." USAID BIH Director Howard Sumka stated that the "guillotine of regulations" will cut through unnecessary measures that prevent investments in BIH. This process will be implemented at the local level in its final stages. (from FENA wire service and Oslobodjenje Daily)

Bulgaria's Far-Reaching Business Registration Reform, designed by Jacobs and
Associates, Adopted by Parliament, April 2006

On April 20, 2006, the Bulgarian Parliament voted 170-0 to overturn a Presidential veto on the Commercial Registration Act (CRA) supported by USAID through its Commercial Law Reform Program. Jacobs and Associates, working with Bearing Point, was the chief technical advisor to USAID for the Bulgarian reform from 2004-2006. The law had been previously adopted, then vetoed by the President. Members of Parliament emphasized the importance of this reform law in improving Bulgaria's business climate.

USAID states that the new registration law, taking effect on October 1, 2006, "is a high-profile and meaningful reform legacy....It will unlock judicial resources removing registration from the court system and set up a simplified and speedy registration procedure under the executive branch of government."Bulgaria becomes the third country in Eastern Europe to take business registration completely out of the courts. The first country was the Republic of Serbia in 2005, where Jacobs and Associates also took the lead in designing the reform. The second was Macedonia, in early 2006.

The Act relieves the judicial system from activities that are administrative in nature, reduces possibilities for discretion and corruption and enhances transparency. The basic elements of the new Commercial Register Act are:

1. Centralized and Electronic. The register will be centralized under the Registration Agency within the Ministry of Justice.  Registration may be made electronically via Internet and at 28 regional offices. Registration data will go into a single electronic database.  The Law removes the need to publish registrations in the State Gazette.
2. No Discretion. Requirements for registration are specified in the Law and its implementing regulations. The registration official may not reject a registration request that satisfies these requirements.
3. Publicly Accessible.  The register's database will be publicly accessible free of charge over the Internet.
4. Cost. The Registration Agency's Fees for registration will be cost-based. If the annual revenues from registration fees exceed the expenses for maintenance and operation of the register, the fees for the next year will be reduced.

USAID Praises The Regulatory Guillotine™ in Moldova.

Jacobs and Associates designed The Regulatory Guillotine™ that was implemented by the Moldovan government in 2005 with the assistance of a USAID program, BizPro. USAID recently concluded that “The application of the Guillotine Law is one of the most significant events in the reform process since Moldova’s departure from the USSR.” (USAID Frontlines, February 2006.) View the article here.

Jacobs Supports CUTS Institute of Regulation and
Competition as Visiting Faculty member

The CUTS Institute of Regulation and Competition (CIRC) is an institute formed by CUTS International, a leading research and advocacy group based in India. CIRC, located in Jaipur, will offer general and customized training to meet the requirements of regulators and their staff, government officials, civil society representatives, academicians, business, media, trade unions etc from the developing world, in particular Africa and Asia. Scott Jacobs is honored to support CIRC as a Visiting Faculty member.

Serbia named as the world's top reformer among 155 countries

Doing Business in 2006: Creating Jobs

In the new 2006 Doing Business report from the World Bank, Serbia and Montenegro was named as the world's top reformer among 155 countries in improving its business environment (see http://www.doingbusiness.org). Among the accomplishments in the Republic of Serbia, the capital requirement for starting a new business was cut from 5,000 euros to 500. The time to start a new business was reduced from 51 days to 15. The number of new registered firms in 2004 jumped by 42% over 2003.

Our congratulations to the government of the Republic of Serbia for its success. Jacobs and Associates was pleased to assist Serbia in these reforms. As advisor on deregulation to the Serbian Minister of Economy and Privatization from 2001-2004, with World Bank financing, Scott Jacobs worked with a superb team of Serbian and World Bank experts to diagnose the problems, and design the inspections reforms and the new Serbian business registry that have greatly reduced burdens on businesses. Serbian Minister of Economy Predrag Bubalo refers to our "crucial contributions" to these reforms (his letter can be seen HERE).

"Regulatory Reform Needs in South Asia"

Scott Jacobs spoke on "Regulatory Reform Needs in South Asia" in June 2005 at the South Asia High-Level Roundtable on Implementing Regulatory Reform in Dhaka. Conference papers can be downloaded at http://www.fias.net/ifcext/fias.nsf/. Mr. Jacobs is pictured at right with Anil Sinha, General Manager,
South Asia Enterprise Development Facility of the IFC.

Jacobs and Associates teaches RIA courses in the European Commission, Moldova, Ukraine and China

Our Directors have taught several courses on regulatory impact analysis recently.  In June 2005, Jacobs and Associate Europe launched its new European course on impact assessment for officials of the European Commission's DG SANCO.

In January-February 2005, Scott Jacobs and Cesar Cordova taught RIA courses in Chisinau for 70 officials and local business representatives in Moldova, and in Kiev for 100 officials of the national and oblast governments of Ukraine. In November 2004, Jong Seok Kim and Scott Jacobs taught a two-day RIA course for 30 officials in the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China

Jacobs and Kim lecture in the Kyrgyz Republic

In February 2005, Scott Jacobs and Jong Seok Kim spoke in Bishkek at the Consensus Building Workshop on Improving the Competitiveness of the Kyrgyz Republic Economy sponsored by the World Bank.  Jacobs spoke on regulatory reform initiatives around the world, while Kim spoke on Korea's experience with rapid regulatory reform.

Jeff Hill presented his thoughts on the future of regulation at the Canadian Institute of Public Administration conference on December 13-14, 2004, on the implications for future governance of recent regulatory regimes.

Scott Jacobs spoke on “Asking the Right Questions: The Design of Training Courses for Regulatory Impact Assessment in Developing Countries” at the conference on “Pro-poor Regulation and Competition: Issues, Policies and Practices,” held by the Centre on Regulation and Competition (CRC), Manchester University, in Cape Town, South Africa, 7-9 September 2004

Canada’s Committee, on which Scott Jacobs was honored to serve, has issued its final report recommending that the Canadian government carry out a smart regulation strategy to accelerate reforms in key areas to promote health and sustainability, to contribute to innovation and economic growth, and to reduce the administrative burden on business.

The report is at http://www.smartregulation.gc.ca/en/08/rpt_fnl.pdf
or can be downloaded from our Reports page. This photo pictures the Advisory Group and its Secretariat at its final meeting on 18-19 August 2004 in Ottawa.

The Foreign Investment Advisory Service organized a workshop on "Administrative Barriers to Investment in Serbia" on 3 June 2004 in Belgrade to release the findings of its new study on how Serbia can reduce barriers to investment.

Scott Jacobs spoke at the workshop on the role of regulatory impact assessment in assisting the economic transition in Serbia. In this photo, from left, Roy Pepper of the Foreign Investment Advisory Service, Scott Jacobs, Ana S. Trbovic, Assistant Minister, Ministry of International Economic Relations of the Republic of Serbia, and Itzhak Goldberg of the World Bank.

Jacobs and Associates is part of a team led by Bearing Point that has won the tender for a USAID Commercial Law Reform Program in Bulgaria in 2004-2005. Jacobs and Associates is leading the work on reform of Bulgaria's business registration system. The project will design a registration system that is fast, simple, cheap, and reliable, and that meets European requirements and best practices. A high-level international seminar on "MODERNIZING BULGARIA’S BUSINESS REGISTRY" will be held on 9 February 2004 in Sofia, co-hosted by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Economy.

Scott Jacobs spoke at on the use of regulatory impact analysis in developing countries at a Conference on REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT: STRENGTHENING REGULATION POLICY AND PRACTICE hosted by the Centre on Regulation and Competition, University of Manchester, 26-27 November 2003. The conference was one of the first to focus on how developing countries use regulatory impact analysis within the development strategy. The conference papers are at http://idpm.man.ac.uk/crc/conferences/regreformnov03/riainfo.html.

On 2-3 June 2003 in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian Ministry of Finance and the World Bank organized a two-day workshop for Ministries, NGOs, and the private sector to discuss the report prepared by Jacobs and Associates, "Réforme des réglementations, performance du marché et réduction de la pauvreté en Mauritanie."

Mr. Jacobs and Mr. Gahan presented the report and assisted in the workshop. After considerable discussion, participants agreed that the Government should adopt most of the recommendations in the report. In the photo to the right, Mr. Jacobs and Mr. Gahan appear at the workshop with M. Zeine Ould Zeidane of the Centre Mauritanien d’Analyse des Politiques (CMAP). The report will be published by the World Bank later in 2003 as a Bank Working Paper.

The OECD published in 2003 the report, "Regulatory Policies in OECD Countries: From Interventionism to Regulatory Governance," which was co-authored by Jacobs and Associates Managing Director Scott Jacobs and our Associate Rex Deighton-Smith, with the OECD's Deputy Director for Regulatory Reform Cesar Cordova.

The book notes, "In the past 20 years, few reforms of the public sector have received more attention, and stimulated more controversy, than the reforms made to regulation making and regulatory management. The rise of regulatory policies -explicit policies aimed at continuously improving the quality of the regulatory environment -- shows how early notions of "deregulation" or "cutting red tape" quickly gave way to a central "good governance" notion. This notion is based on an understanding of how regulatory practices can substantially improve market performance, public sector effectiveness and citizens’ satisfaction, through a mix or deregulation, re-regulation and better quality regulation, backed up by new or improved institutions.

Regulatory Policies in OECD Countries documents the development and emergence of that understanding. It describes the "state of play" in the regulatory policy agenda in OECD countries, and identifies the key challenges facing regulatory practitioners in the future." The book can be purchased in English or French on the OECD website at http://oecdpublications.gfi-nb.com/cgi-bin/OECDBookShop.storefront/EN/product/422002121P1.

On 28 April 2003, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien of Canada invited Scott Jacobs to serve on Canada's External Advisory Committee on Smart Regulation. The Committee's 11 members will advise the Canadian government as it purses its strategy "to accelerate reforms in key areas to promote health and sustainability, to contribute to innovation and economic growth, and to reduce administrative burdens on business." The members were selected, according to the Prime Minister, "on the basis of their diverse background, expertise, range of interests and ability to speak credibly on public policy issues linked to regulation in its broadest terms."

On 9 - 10 April 2003, Scott Jacobs gave a keynote address on "The importance of institutions in determining the investment environment" at the South Asia FDI Roundtable in the Maldives. The Roundtable was hosted by the Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS).

Mr. Jacobs addressed the question "What new or strengthened institutions will increase the attractiveness of an economy to FDI inflows?" FIAS will publish the conference papers later in 2003. Mr. Jacobs' paper, "The importance of institutions in determining the investment environment," can be downloaded HERE.