The world's biggest emerging economies may face problems ranging from slowing growth to corruption¹ scandals, trade sanctions and grumbling² foreign investors³, but that has not stopped the World Bank from declaring they are becoming better places to do business.

全球几个最大的新兴经济体也许面临着从经济增长放缓到腐败丑闻、从贸易制裁到外国投资者不满的种种问题，但这并未阻止世界银行(World Bank)宣告它们正成为更好的营商地点。

Russia, China, India and Brazil were given a vote of confidence in the World Bank's "Doing Business" report yesterday, creeping up the bank's often controversial annual rankings, in part thanks to a change in methodology.

俄罗斯、中国、印度和巴西都得到了世行昨日发布的《营商环境报告》(Doing Business)的信心投票，在该行经常引起争议的年度榜单上排名小幅上升，这在一定程度上得益于排名评估方法的变化。

Russia, in the midst of a recession and facing international sanctions thanks to its interventions⁴ in Ukraine, has moved from 62nd to 51st place, ahead of EU economies such as Greece and Luxembourg, and within spitting distance of others such as Belgium and Italy.

深陷经济衰退、同时因插手乌克兰事务而受到国际制裁的俄罗斯，从第62位升至第51位，领先于希腊和卢森堡等欧盟经济体，而且与比利时和意大利等其他欧盟经济体相差不远。

China, where foreign businesses have grown increasingly dissatisfied in recent years about policies they see as favouring domestic companies, gained a more modest six places to rank 84th among the 189 economies listed.

中国的排名升幅小一些，上升六位，在189个经济体中排名第84位。近年在华外资企业对于他们眼中有利于本土企业的政策越来越不满。

India, whose prime minister, Narendra Modi, has made moving up the rankings a goal for his government, came 130th — up 12 places on last year.

印度被排在第130位，比去年上升12位。该国总理纳伦德拉·莫迪(Narendra Modi)已将提升营商环境排名列为他的政府的一个目标。

Brazil, where the economy has slipped into recession and the government is teetering thanks to a corruption scandal, gained four places to 116th.

巴西的排名上升四位，至第116位。该国经济已陷入衰退，政府正因一场腐败丑闻而摇摇欲坠。

The lone⁵ Brics economy going down in the rankings was South Africa, which lost 30 places to finish 73rd.

排名下降的唯一金砖经济体是南非，其排名下滑30位，至第73位。

This year's moves highlight what critics have long seen as a central problem of the Doing Business rankings. The exercise is focused on metrics such as the time it takes to open a business, the availability of electricity and speed with which commercial disputes can be resolved. But it stays away from measures of corruption and protectionism, for example, and in many ways favours authoritarian⁶ regimes that can pass regulations quickly.

今年的排名变动凸显了批评者眼中的营商环境排名的核心问题。这项评比关注的标准是需要多长时间开张企业、电力可获得性以及解决商业纠纷所需时间等等。但它不衡量腐败和保护主义之类，而且在很多方面有利于能够快速出台法规的威权政权。