IME – “Local Business Environment Index”””

Local Business Environment Index

(http://www.effectivemunicipality.com/en)

For the first time in Bulgaria we have researched the local business environment. IME has developed a methodology, conducted a survey and after reviewing pertinent conditions has ranked regional cities.

The Local Business Environment Index is aimed at distinguishing the differences in local business climate and investigating where in Bulgaria (in which city or municipality) it is easiest to do business. The index includes all 28 Bulgarian regions, and every region is represented by one city – usually the biggest one (regional capital).

The index does not look into quality of life or wealth in the different cities. The index does not aim to show which cities are most lucrative for business. Our focus lies exclusively on the conditions for doing business, especially administrative ones. We do not take into account factors such as: presence of markets and customers, infrastructure, investment, human capital, etc. We only investigate the administrative burden, put on business in the form of taxes and fees, regulations, quality of administrative service, and corruption.

The methodology and the results are available here – http://www.effectivemunicipality.com/en