Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-117).

Introduction -- Assessing the investment climate of Brazil, India, and South Africa -- Macroeconomic and trade policy -- Macroeconomic performance -- Taxation -- Foreign trade and exchange -- The benefits of exporting : the case of Brazil -- Microeconomic framework -- Regulation -- Enforcement -- Enabling environment for growth -- Investment climate and firm location -- Access to finance -- Physical infrastructure -- Cost and availability of skilled labor -- Crime -- Potential reforms and their estimated effects -- Investment climate reform and productivity -- Examining options for microeconomic reform : access to credit -- Lessons from country experience -- A flat tax for micro and small firms : the SIMPLES reform in Brazil -- The emergence of India's software sector -- Building a respected corporate tax system in South Africa -- South Africa's accelerated and shared growth initiative -- Conclusions -- Appendix A: Concept of the investment climate --Appendix B: Data sources.