In the context of World Bank support to Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Malaysia, CGA’s Practice Leader Hamid Alavi carried out Investment Climate Assessments. This covered a broad range of factors affecting firm productivity, spanning from political stability to the efficient delivery of permits. The data used in Investment Climate Assessments are collected through face-to-face interviews with hundreds of managers, hence the analysis reflects the managers’ actual experience. The objectives of these assessments were to (i) evaluate the state of the business environment; (ii) benchmark the quality of the business environment across countries; (iii) identify the key constraints to increasing firm productivity and (iv) identify policies that will alleviate obstacles and improve firm productivity and competitiveness.