Institute of Economic and Social Studies (INESS) introduced the Bureaucracy Index in Slovakia in 2016 aiming to draw the attention to the amount of red tape a small entrepreneur has to comply with on a daily basis.
The Index is based on a straightforward methodology, using the analysis of a model micro company and its all bureaucratic duties (ranging from taxes and worktime planning through health and safety measures up to waste management) are assigned a specific time cost.
This year, think tanks from Lithuania (Lithuanian Free Market Institute), the Czech Republic (Liberal Institute), North Macedonia (Macedonia 2025), Spain (Civismo) and Italy (Competere) joined INESS and prepared their national versions of the Bureaucracy Index.
Macedonian small entrepreneurs have to spend 154 hours per year dealing with bureaucracy, followed by Slovakia (217), the Czech Republic (223), Lithuania (271), Italy (312) and Spain (369).
All partners shared the results with the media and public on 29 September. Despite the epidemiologic burdens in many partner countries, some of the events attracted a broad audience of media and interesting stakeholders.
In Slovakia, the Deputy Minister of Economy joined a panel at the press conference to present government plans to tackle bureaucracy.
In North Macedonia, several consultations meetings/workshops on measures to reduce the burden on companies will be held in the upcoming weeks.
The date is not accidental – September 29 marks the birthday of the economist Ludwig von Mises. Among other things, he was one of the first economists who systematically studied the phenomenon of bureaucracy. He published his findings in the book entitled Bureaucracy. INESS has been trying to promote this date as the International Bureaucracy Day.
Our ambition is to promote this day as a moral encouragement for entrepreneurs, accountants, administrators, lawyers and all those forced to sacrifice the precious time of their lives on the altar of bureaucracy by filling out the forms and documents.
