Giuseppe Iarossi

Although Kenya has recorded some improvements in the last four years, including an increase in productivity, Kenyan firms still face an adverse business environment. The central objective of this report is to identify the main impediments to productivity growth faced by Kenyan firms. The top constraints identified by the Kenyan managers were tax rates, access to finance, corruption, security, infrastructure services (electricity and transportation), and business licensing. Kenya has reduced the corporate tax rates in recent years. Nevertheless, objective indicators suggest that the tax burden in Kenya remains higher than in most comparator countries. Although a more detailed analysis of the tax burden in Kenya is recommended, one potential impact of a high tax regime is higher evasion, as well as the presence of a larger informal sector.

Nigeria has a clear vision of where it wants to be. The country's vision 2020 expresses a bold desire to be among the top twenty economies by the year 2020. The economy has posted impressive growth figures since 2003 driven by higher oil prices and a series of home-grown, economic reforms. The country is now firmly on the road to middle-income status. But what else do government and the private sector need to do to create the jobs and growth that will underpin the national development strategy? What are the challenges that Nigeria??s businesses face today? What can government do to promote job creation? What are the roles of the Federal and State governments in promoting private sector growth? This Investment Climate Analysis aims to provide answers to these questions. It is built on a 2,300 firm survey and provides evidence-based recommendations designed to support the vision 2020 and the President??s seven point agenda. Improving productivity will take simultaneous efforts to foster competition, to improve the business environment as well as to facilitate better management and training within individual firms. Nigeria??s best firms have not been able to grow their market share. To allow this to happen, policy-makers need to address and eliminate the obstacles to competition including barriers to entry, convoluted taxation, property registration and licensing.

A practical how-to guide on all the steps involved with survey implementation, this volume covers survey management, questionnaire design, sampling, respondent's psychology and survey participation, and data management. A comprehensive and practical reference for those who both use and produce survey data.