"So, what do you think about the IEG report?" I was g-chatting with my friend Smita the other night when she brought up the World Bank. "What IEG report? What's the IEG?" I replied, showing my ignorance of the latest Bank goings on (and of the acronym – it stands for Independent Evaluation Group). Smita sighed. "I'm surprised you haven't heard. I'll forward you an e-mail from this listserve I'm on. Take a look."

That's how I found out about Doing Business: An Independent Evaluation. Released on June 12, the report criticizes Doing Business' (DB) reliability and robustness, suggesting that top-ranked countries may achieve high scores due to the absence of regulation, not necessarily the presence of smart, socially-beneficial regulation. Furthermore, the report found "no statistically significant relationship" between the DB indicators and any kind of economic outcome such as investment, gross domestic product growth or employment.

For those interested in business' role in fostering sustainable development, the IEG report ought to prompt some serious reflection. I know it's been on my mind since I read it. After all, I've been promoting the Doing Business reports for years here on NextBillion.net and to scores of colleagues, companies, development agencies and NGOs interested in base of the pyramid strategy. Perhaps it was naïve of me to assume that – as a World Bank / International Finance Corporation report – the DB indicators are robust and well-vetted. The IEG says they’re not – which calls into question a lot of my advice.

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