Chroniques patagones

Via Johan Norberg, nous apprenons que la Géorgie - l'ancienne république soviétique et non pas l'État américain - subit de profondes transformations économiques. Selon l'indice 2007 de Doing Business, ce pays est passé, en un an, du 112^e au 37^e rang, un fait sans précédent dans l'histoire de cet indicateur. Voilà qui laisse rêveur.

Georgia has reduced the minimum capital required to start a new business by 90 percent, and the number of days to meet bureaucratic requirements to export from 54 to 13 days. The labour market has been deregulated and social security contributions have been reduced from 31 percent of wages to 20 percent.

At the same time, the number of new businesses has increased by 20 percent and unemployment has fallen by 2 percentage points.

The problem is implementation. The new laws are not always upheld by the local civil servant and policeman. So the priority is improved governance and anti-corruption reform. And, naturally, deregulation that strips the bureaucracy of powers entirely.

For example, the Georgian government recently decided to abolish all tariffs until 2008. Way to go.