Gap Alert: Regulatory Quality
Severity: RED
The WGI Regulatory Quality score stands at 0.55 against a target of 1.23, representing one of the widest gaps in the Vision 2040 KPI set.
Gap Analysis
Regulatory quality captures perceptions of the government’s ability to formulate and implement sound policies. Oman’s 0.55 score places it in the upper-middle range globally, but far from the 1.23 needed for a top-30 ranking. The gap reflects cumbersome licensing processes, inconsistent enforcement, price controls in key sectors, and limited stakeholder consultation in rulemaking. The 0.68-point gap would require an unprecedented pace of improvement.
What Needs to Change
Adopt a regulatory impact assessment requirement for all new legislation. Establish a regulatory oversight body with the power to challenge poorly designed regulations. Publish all regulations in English simultaneously with Arabic. Sunset outdated regulations through a systematic review programme. Implement mandatory public consultation periods for all new business regulations.
Risk Assessment
Red severity. Regulatory quality is a cross-cutting enabler that affects FDI attraction, business formation, and innovation. The wide gap suggests deep institutional reform is needed, which cannot be achieved through quick fixes. Without improvement, other growth-dependent KPIs will also underperform.
Recommended Interventions
Recommended interventions: create a National Regulatory Reform Unit reporting to the Council of Ministers; adopt an OECD-standard regulatory impact assessment framework; implement a one-in-one-out rule for new business regulations; digitise all licensing through a single business portal; and benchmark against top performers such as Singapore, New Zealand, and Denmark through structured peer-learning programmes.
This gap alert is issued by the Oman Vision 2040 Research Unit and is updated quarterly. Severity levels: GREEN (on/ahead of track), AMBER (gap widening but recoverable), RED (structural gap requiring urgent intervention). Data sources include NCSI, World Bank WGI, IMF, and relevant international indices.