Structural Policies (Cluster B) covers policies affecting trade, the financial sector, and the business environment. Although the regional average score for Cluster B was 3.1, unchanged for the last three years, it exhibited an upward-trending trajectory for the trade component, while the financial criterion continued to trail the cluster with the lowest score. The gap in scores between the best (trade) and the worst (financial sector) performing criteria widened further in 2021. At the subregional level, the average score for East and Southern Africa increased from 3.0 to 3.1 on the back of progress made in the trade and business regulatory framework. By contrast, the average score for the West and Central Africa subregion was unchanged at 3.2. Considerable variations in performance were observed among the cluster components and across country groups. Fragile countries (2.9) underperformed non-fragile states (3.4) across the two subregions.
