Structural Policies (Cluster B) covers policies affecting trade, the financial sector and the business environment. Policies impacting trade, the financial sector and the business environment are covered under this cluster. The average score for cluster B decreased in 2019, the first change over the past 10 years. Performance weakened across the cluster. After remaining steady at 3.7, the score on the trade criterion fell to 3.6. The score on the financial sector criterion decreased further from 2.8 to 2.7, well below the cluster average. The score for the business regulatory environment, which had declined to 3.0 in 2018, was unchanged. These decreasing scores suggest a slowdown in the pace of structural reforms across the region’s IDA countries, which could weigh on output growth in the medium term.
