This report is an expanded version of Trade and Transport Facilitation: An Audit Methodology, published by the World Bank in April 2000. Its primary focus is on transport facilitation in developing countries. Understanding that each country has its own set of special characteristics including significant border entry and import points, this report provides an analytical approach complemented by practical suggestions on how to analyze findings and create effective remedial action plans.

This paper is based on a worldwide survey of some 10,000 executives conducted in 1999/2000. Its primary focus is to evaluate whether there are important differences among small, medium, and large enterprises in terms of perceived obstacles to doing business. This paper is the first attempt based on empirical evidence to examine the quality of interactions between firms of different sizes and governments on a worldwide scale.

Governments in both industrialized and developing countries provide a wide variety of programs to assist small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs). Despite the success of SME strategies in a few countries, the majority of developing countries have found that the impact of their SME development programs on enterprise performance has been less than satisfactory. Underlying the search for best practice are some basic questions: What is the justification for public intervention in the first place? Should SMEs be singled out for assistance? If there is a justification for government intervention,...