Poor Countries Overregulate Business

One of the main reasons that poor countries are poor and remain poor is because of excessive regulation of business (see graph above - high income countries have significantly less regulation than poor countries).

From the study "Doing Business in 2004: Understanding Regulation" by the World Bank's International Finance Corporation:

Number of days to start a new business:
Australia: 2 days
Venezuela: 141 days
Haiti: 203 days
Suriname: 694 days

Time to enforce a simple commercial contract:
Netherlands: 39 days

New Zealand: 109 days
Singapore: 120 days
India: 1420 days
Guatemala: 1459 days

Cost of enforcement for a simple commercial contract:
Austria, Canada and UK: Less than 1% of the disputed amount

Sweden: 5.9% of the disputed amount
U.S.: 7.7% of the disputed amount
Indonesia: 126.5% of the disputed amount
Congo: 157% of the disputed amount

Time to close a business and go through bankruptcy:
Ireland: 4 months
Japan: 5 months
Brazil: 4 years
India: 10 years

Conclusion: The optimal amount of regulation is not none, but is significantly less than what is currently found in most countries, especially poor ones.