Since 2013 the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, through the development of the Global Business Rule of Law Dashboard (the “Dashboard”), has attempted to bring more attention to the rule of law environment as it relates to business. The following are the key questions the research and development of the Dashboard have sought to answer:
- How is the rule of law for business currently measured in the most heavily used and credible international indices and surveys of legal and regulatory environments? To what extent do existing international indices and surveys of legal and regulatory environments include specific indicators and measure areas of the rule of law as they relate to business?
- Is it possible to compare a sample of countries by identifying, extracting, and amalgamating relevant indicators from these international indices and surveys into a composite meta-measure of the rule of law as it relates to business?
This marks the third edition of the Dashboard. The ultimate purpose of the Dashboard is to provide users with an easy-to-understand yet statistically credible meta-measure of the rule of law environment as it relates to business. The Dashboard relies on and uses information and research contained in seven internationally accepted and established indices and surveys of the rule of law. It is a compilation and reflection of these existing measures and it relies on the methodological strengths and weaknesses of those underlying indices and surveys.
The 2013 Dashboard focused on the Americas region and was applied to a sample of 10 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, U.S., and Venezuela. In 2015 the Dashboard was significantly expanded and 50 new countries were added, bringing the total number of countries sampled to 60. This year an additional 12 countries have been added, bringing the total number of countries sampled and included in the Dashboard to 72. The below table gives an overview of the countries included in the sample, organized on a regional basis.
