What’s Behind the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ Rankings?

Like its annual ‘Doing Business’ (DB) ranking, the World Bank’s new Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture (BBA) initiative ranks countries according to how ‘business friendly’ their agriculture and land policies are, thus promoting competitive economic deregulation as countries vie for foreign direct investment. There is an urgency to stop the DB ranking, and to halt the BBA while it is still in its early stages, to prevent land grabbing and further dispossession of smallholders, pastoralists, and indigenous populations.