Vol 23 (2026) - Issue 5

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Developing the Business Ready Business Insolvency Indicators

Synopsis
The Business Insolvency indicators of the Business Ready project provide a more balanced and nuanced view than the approach to measuring insolvency taken by the discontinued Doing Business project. Findings from Business Ready 2025 reveal key disparities in performance across and within economy income levels.
While higher-income economies tend to score better, notable exceptions demonstrate that strong regulatory frameworks and institutional frameworks can enhance the business insolvency environments regardless of income. The data also highlight a widespread 'public services gap', where weak institutional and operational infrastructure for insolvency proceedings fails to leverage otherwise relatively stronger regulatory frameworks. Moreover, the ease with which firms can comply with regulations and use public services lag behind regulatory strength – resulting in an 'efficiency gap'.