Global BusinessNorway

MULTIMEDIA

GLOBAL BUSINESS

 Counting Surgical Sponges

A Pittsburgh company develops a simple technology to ensure that no surgical sponges get left behind

 Naples' Volcano Vigilance

The Naples Emergency Responders are tasked with protecting the city from the omnipresent volcanic activity of Mount Vesuvius.

Photographs by Emiliano Mancuso / Grazia Neri

 "Smart Sponges" Purify Stormwater

A Scottsdale, Arizona company finds a market for its "Smart Sponges", chemically-engineered filters that effectively — and cheaply — purify storm-water runoff

COUNTRY NAVIGATOR

Developed for the World Economic Forum by Professor Xavier Sala-i-Martin, the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) measures the competitiveness of nations using economic statistics and extensive polling of international business leaders.

FEATURED STORIES

Norway

Norway's Power Play

Its two big oil companies merge to create an outfit designed to compete with BP and Exxon as well as Iran

FROM THE REGION

Cementing the Future

Architects are using stylish high-tech concrete to create beautiful--and greener--buildings

ATT Advanced Track & Trace

Encoded IDs help foil thieves and counterfeiters


DOING BUSINESS IN NORWAY

Problematic Factors

  • Access to financing
  • Restrictive labor regulations
  • Foreign currency regulations
  • Inadequate supply of infrastructure
  • Inefficient government bureaucracy
  • Inadequately educated workforce
  • Poor work ethic in national labor force
  • Policy instability
  • Government instability/coups
  • Crime and theft
  • Corruption
  • Tax regulations
  • Tax rates
  • Inflation
  • 0 10 20 30
  • Percent of responses
Norway

How is this data measured?

Note: From a list of 14 factors, respondents were asked to select the five most problematic factors for doing business in their country/economy and to rank them between 1(most problematic) and 5. The bars in the figure show the responses weighted according to their ranking.

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