| Code | IC.REG.PRRT.GEO.COVR.XD.08.DB1619 |
| Indicator Name | Geographic coverage index (0-8) (DB17-20 methodology) |
| Long definition | The geographic coverage index assesses the extent to which the land registry and cadastre provide complete geographic coverage of privately held land parcels. It has four components: (i) how complete the coverage of the land registry is at the level of the largest business city; (ii) how complete the coverage of the land registry is at the level of the economy; (iii) how complete the coverage of the mapping agency is at the level of the largest business city; and (iv) how complete the coverage of the mapping agency is at the level of the economy. The index is computed based on the methodology in the DB17-20 studies. |
| Source | World Bank Group, Doing Business project (http://www.doingbusiness.org/). |
| Topic | Registering property |
| Periodicity | Annual |
| Reference period | Data are presented for the survey year instead of publication year. |
| Statistical concept and methodology | Data are collected by the World Bank Group with a standardized questionnaire that uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies and over time—with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location and nature of its operation. Questionnaires are administered to more than 13,800 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials and other professionals routinely administering or advising on legal and regulatory requirements.
The Doing Business data are based on a detailed reading of domestic laws, regulations and administrative requirements as well as their implementation in practice as experienced by private firms. The report covers 190 economies—including some of the smallest and poorest economies, for which little or no data are available from other sources. The data are collected through several rounds of communication with expert respondents (both private sector practitioners and government officials), through responses to questionnaires, conference calls, written correspondence and visits by the team. Doing Business relies on four main sources of information: the relevant laws and regulations, Doing Business respondents, the governments of the economies covered and the World Bank Group regional staff. |
| Development relevance | Registered property rights are necessary to support investment, productivity and growth. Cadasters or surveys, together with land registries, are tools used around the world to map, prove and secure property and use rights. Keeping an up-to-date land information system is crucial as land and buildings account for between half and three-quarters of the wealth in most economies. Implementing an effective property registration system makes local owners more likely to invest in the economy. Formal property markets also increase domestic stability and decrease the likelihood of evictions in poor, urban areas, which is beneficial for employment and productivity. |
| Limitations and exceptions | The Doing Business methodology has five limitations that should be considered when interpreting the data. First, for most economies the collected data refer to businesses in the largest business city and may not be representative of regulation in other parts of the economy. Second, the data often focus on a specific business form—generally a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) of a specified size—and may not be representative of the regulation on other businesses. Third, transactions described in a standardized case scenario refer to a specific set of issues and may not represent the full set of issues that a business encounters. Fourth, the measures of time involve an element of judgment by the expert respondents. When sources indicate different estimates, the time indicators reported in Doing Business represent the median values of several responses given under the assumptions of the standardized case. Finally, the methodology assumes that a business has full information on what is required and does not waste time when completing procedures. In practice, completing a procedure may take longer if the business lacks information or is unable to follow up promptly. Alternatively, the business may choose to disregard some burdensome procedures. For both reasons the time delays reported in Doing Business would differ from the recollection of entrepreneurs reported in the World Bank Group Enterprise questionnaires or other firm-level questionnaires. |
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