Enterprise Surveys

The country profile for Sweden is based
on data from the enterprise surveys conducted by the World
Bank in 2014. The Enterprise Surveys focus on the many
factors that shape the business environment. These factors
can be accommodating or constraining for firms and play an
important role in whether a country will prosper or not. An
accommodating business environment is one that encourages
firms to operate efficiently. Such conditions strengthen
incentives for firms to innovate and to increase
productivity, key factors for sustainable development. A
more productive private sector, in turn, expands employment
and contributes taxes necessary for public investment in
health, education, and other services. In contrast, a poor
business environment increases the obstacles to conducting
business activities and decreases a country’s prospects for
reaching its potential in terms of employment, production,
and welfare. The Enterprise Surveys are conducted by the
World Bank and its partners across all geographic regions
and cover small, medium, and large companies. The surveys
are administered to a representative sample of firms in the
non-agricultural formal private economy. The sample is
consistently defined in all countries and includes the
entire manufacturing sector, the services sector, and the
transportation and construction sectors. Public utilities,
government services, health care, and financial services
sectors are not included in the sample. The Enterprise
Surveys collect a wide array of qualitative and quantitative
information through face to face interviews with firm
managers and owners regarding the business environment in
their countries and the productivity of their firms. The
topics covered in Enterprise Surveys include infrastructure,
trade, finance, regulations, taxes and business licensing,
corruption, crime and informality, finance, innovation,
labor, and perceptions about obstacles to doing business.
The qualitative and quantitative data collected through the
surveys connect a country’s business environment
characteristics with firm productivity and performance. The
Enterprise Survey is useful for both policymakers and
researchers. The surveys are repeated over time to track
changes and benchmark the effects of reforms on firms’ performance.