The World Bank will now measure local business rules, not just national ones

The World Bank will start measuring how easy it is to do business in specific regions within countries, not just at the national level. This means development aid can now target local problems like slow permits or bad roads, instead of broad national policies.

For decades, development agencies used national data to decide where to invest, assuming conditions were similar across a country. This paper shows that local rules and infrastructure often create huge differences, hiding problems in some areas and opportunities in others. Now, the World Bank can fund specific local fixes, like streamlining permits in one city or improving roads in another, which could unlock private investment in places previously overlooked.