The World Bank will now rank Spanish cities on how easy they make it to do business

The World Bank is launching a new program to measure how easy it is to start and run a business in 17 Spanish cities. This means cities will be publicly compared on things like getting building permits, connecting to utilities, and resolving disputes.

For years, the World Bank's 'Doing Business' report ranked entire countries, which often hid big differences within a country. This new subnational report will expose those differences, putting pressure on local governments to improve their business environments. Cities that rank poorly will likely face questions from businesses and potential investors, pushing them to streamline regulations and cut red tape.