PREM LEARNING WEEK 2010 APRIL 29 Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS): Data and New Products Presented by: Gregory Kisunko, Sr. Public Sector Specialist, ECSPE Kimberly Johns, Consultant ESCPE

Agenda What is BEEPS?  History, Methodology and Sample  Country and Topical Coverage Types of Indicators  Quantitative and Qualitative Data  Advantages of BEEPS Data Opportunities for Using BEEPS  BEEPS in Use: Research and Practice  New Opportunities BEEPS Products: Overview and Demonstration of BEEPS Portal

What is BEEPS? 3 Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey: A joint initiative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank BEEPS is a unique dataset of firm-level survey data  The BEEPS has been carried out in 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2008 in virtually all of the countries of ECA region  Over 9,000 firms in 27 ECA countries were surveyed in 2005, and over 10,500 in 29 countries in the 2008 cycle.  BEEPS includes a panel aspect with data dating back to A primary goal of BEEPS is to capture indicators of the business environment and firm-state interaction (e.g. characteristics of financing, red tape, corruption, innovation, judiciary, etc.)

What is BEEPS? The results are based on firm responses, therefore better reflect “on the ground” experiences.  Results are not based on expert opinion or legislative procedures  Use BEEPS to monitor progress on programs and reforms  Use BEEPS to identify trends and opportunities for Bank involvement  BEEPS data complements other data sources (DB, WDI, LiTS, etc.) With the BEEPS Portal, if it is in BEEPS, it is now at your fingertips.  Charts and data can be used in reports, presentations, discussions, and original research

Sample & Methodology BEEPS uses a stratified sample of firms chosen on the basis of age, primary area of activity, size, and location The sampling frame and methodology changed between 2005 and 2008 cycles, and While steps have been taken to match the 2005 and 2008 sample frames as closely as possible, all cross-period comparisons should be considered illustrative While cross-period comparability is limited, “new” BEEPS allows for greater comparability of ECA countries with countries in other regions.

BEEPS Topical Coverage BEEPS captures data on a number of aspects of the business environment: Questions are asked in face-to-face interviews with top managers of the individual firms. Competition Corruption Costs of Doing Business Crime Customs and Trade Finance and Credit Use Infrastructure Innovation and IT Use Inspections and Permits Labor & Workforce Development Land and Zoning Legal and Judicial Issues Performance Problems Doing Business Regulations & Red Tape Sales and Supplies Taxation

Types of Information Gathered: In-Practice Indicators Quantitative Data Working days spent on:  Taxes, permits, inspections, etc. Number of permits and compulsory certificates Costs and days to obtain permits and certificates Total value of imports Number and length of power outages Losses due to crime Informal payments as a percentage of sales Annual sales, sales on credit Value of collateral Number of competitors Cost of labor, telecommunications, fuel, etc. Perceptual Data Problems doing business  Tax rates, corruption, tax administration, crime, skills and education of labor, business permits, etc.  Greatest obstacle currently facing the firm Perceptions of courts  Quick, Fair, Able to enforce decisions Frequency of informal payments  Taxes, Customs, Courts

Advantages and Disadvantages Data reflects actual experiences and firm sentiment. Results are not based on expert opinion for a “typical” firm. Can be compared to other sources to develop a more detailed picture of the business environment, e.g. Doing Business, AGI, and others. Can be used for program and policy reform monitoring, e.g. have perceptions of corruption improved in countries where reforms have taken place? Can help identify areas in need of reform. Can be used for cross-country and sub-regional comparison: “How does Kosovo relate to other SEE countries?” Disadvantages: Changes in survey limit comparability Microfirms, firms in rural areas, and firms in certain sectors excluded Some questions lack specificity, e.g. transport as a problem doing business

BEEPS In Use: Research and Practice Reports BEEPS at a Glance Country Profiles & Cross Country Report Regional/Sub-regional studies  ACT series, Flagship Reports such as Turmoil at 20  EU8 Quarterly Economic Report  Forthcoming Reports: ECA Before the Storm WBG Governance and Anti-corruption strategy Global Monitoring Report World Development Report Reference and Other Uses Corporate needs (CPIA) CEMs, CVSs, policy notes PADs, CPS/CAS Sector studies and presentations  Finance, Judiciary, Innovation For many research papers On gender, finance, access to credit, et al. For more information see also: earch-used-in-different-studies.xls BEEPS Data Portal Presentations, Reports and Policy/Country Dialogues Country, Regional and Sub-regional Studies Monitoring Reports and Operational Documents

Cross-Region Comparisons: New Opportunities with BEEPS 2008 The new questionnaire is very similar to the Enterprise Survey, therefore many BEEPS questions are now comparable to those asked in LAC, SAR, and MENA. This offers the opportunity to see how ECA compares to the rest of the world.  How does Russia compare to Brazil, or the Slovak Republic to Chile? The samples in most countries are larger than past rounds, allowing for greater use of the data for country-specific analysis. The BEEPS Portal allows for cross- region/country comparisons

Finding the Data BEEPS at-a-Glance Country Profiles & Cross-Country Report – BEEPS at-a-Glance is dedicated to questions that are at least partially comparable across periods ( ). – The Cross-Country Report provides cross country, regional and sub-regional comparisons of selected indicators and an in-depth analysis of Problems Doing Business – Both can be found at: BEEPS Portal – Tools for data analysis & dynamic reports – Download datasets, survey instruments, and notes

BEEPS PORTAL: Data at your Fingertips The Portal provides options to examine every indicator in the BEEPS survey from 2005 and 2008 Create customizable tables and charts for indicators and countries you select Line, pie, bar, column, radar charts Download tables and charts in multiple formats (word, pdf, excel) for greater ease of use View Customizable Reports Full report templates available for dynamic BEEPS At-a-Glance, Governance, Corruption, Judiciary and Infrastructure Choose your country, comparator countries, and sub-regions

BEEPS PORTAL: Options for Analysis The Graphical Analysis option allows users to choose indicators and view values across the ECA region, sub-region, or by country. The Data Analysis option allows users to dynamically analyze the data by country, by indicator, by sub-region, and can view the results in a table or create charts and graphs for use in reports or presentations. Users can refine their results by filtering on a number of strata, including firm size, age, and sector. The Standardized Reports option allows users to examine data via pre-defined reports that are created dynamically based on user preferences. The standardized report templates include important methodological notes, means of calculation, and some include sample sizes for specific indicators. Results obtained through any of the data analysis methods can be downloaded by users for further analysis and/or presentations.

BEEPS PORTAL: Data Differences Selection of BEEPS-Specific Indicators  Informal payments to deal with customs, courts, taxes  Developing new products, outsourcing, spending on R&D  Receipt of subsidies  Number and cost of inspections, permits, and compulsory certificates  Court use and perceptions of speed and ability to enforce decisions  Working days spent on taxes, inspections, permits, and compulsory certificates  Professionalism of labor  HR related indicators, e.g. promotions within the firm  Overdue payments Other portals with similar data exist, but are not as robust as the BEEPS Data Portal. The portal most similar to the BEEPS Portal is that of Enterprise Surveys Enterprise Surveys portal houses data on many indicators included on BEEPS, but does not offer tools to analyze BEEPS-specific indicators The BEEPS Portal also has more options for data visualization and customization.

Comparison of Portals Enterprise Surveys Three Charts Available: 10 Top Business Constraints  Compare income group average & regional average Multi-Country Comparison  Selected indicators filed under 12 topics  Can only compare 2 countries  Can compare only to countries in specific regions or income groups  Aggregate values for problems doing business Strata Breakdown of Indicators  Firm size, sector, exporter, ownership Graphs can be customized by country but not in appearance BEEPS Data Portal Charts and Tables can be created using any indicator from 2005 or 2008 Tables show values for selected countries and year  Choose indicators, countries, time, sub-regional and regional averages  Rotate and highlight data  Sum function aggregates responses Graphs are customizable by type and style  Change axis and data labels, add and modify legends, titles, colors, line and column width, transparency, fills, and more Data can be filtered by strata  Sector OR Industry: textiles, food, IT, chemicals, metals, construction, electronics, retail, etc.  Firm size, subsidiary, ISO certification and age Graphs and Tables are customizable by data, appearance, are printable and can be downloaded for use in presentations, reports and papers in multiple formats

Dynamic Reports: All the Values, All in One Place Topical Reports with at-a glance summaries of relevant indicators (charts and values)  BEEPS at a Glance  Customize countries and strata options  Topical Reports with Indicators on  Corruption  Governance  Judicial Issues  Infrastructure Customize countries and comparators All reports are downloadable for use in presentations and reports

For More Information To test-drive the BEEPS Portal, go to: Enter Login Information: Username: beeps Password: vbnm7890 Note: The BEEPS Portal is still in testing mode, please do not quote until the official release. BEEPS at-a-Glance and the Cross Country Report can be found at: For more information on BEEPS, please contact Gregory Kisunko at or Kimberly Johns at