During the past decade, governments in over 10 countries in the region have been working in the field of business facilitation, specifically in projects related to simplification of business projects. Most of these projects have been promoted by International Cooperation entities.

From the development perspective Business Regulation Improvement Programs and Private Sector Development Programs have the intended objectives of a more inclusive growth, higher rates of employment and poverty reduction.

There is a need to implement a more in-depth study to discern the long- term impact of these projects on the Micro, Small and Medium – sized Enterprises (MSME) sector. It is important to identify other factors affecting SME’s performance and development after the formalization of their operations.

Measuring impact of Business Regulation Improvement Programs intends to determine causality and produce better interventions, to ensure better results and higher impacts. To measure and evaluate impact is necessary to create synergy among donors and to have a certain degree of harmonization in the methodology (to compare results). In this process is necessary to create common definitions and standardize data.

The Business Regulations Evaluation Group (BREG) initiative aims at promoting the evaluation and study of the long-term impact of these micro-level reforms, and will assess the costs and business benefits of regulations in Latin America, where over-regulation has been a norm.  BREG is an attempt of donors working with governments in Latin America to improve the quality of the interventions to reduce over-regulation.