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Every day, firms and entrepreneurs around the world face important choices. A rural micro-entrepreneur ponders whether she should start a small business. A local manufacturing company considers whether it should expand its production line and hire new workers. A multinational enterprise debates whether it should establish a new plant in one of several alternative locations around the globe. Their decisions not only affect those directly involved but also play a key role in economic growth and poverty reduction. And they will depend in good part on government policies and behaviors that affect the investment climate in each location. The World Development Report 2005: Investment Climate, Growth, and Poverty examines what governments can do to improve the investment climates of their countries to help spur growth and reduce poverty. The Report focuses on the opportunities as well as the challenges faced by governments in improving the investment climates of their countries, and suggests practical strategies for accelerating progress. In doing so, it builds on past World Development Reports and other recent World Bank reports on these issues, drawing on new sources of micro-level data