Experiencing development: fast cars and fast cash
In a new World Bank working paper, Bilal Zia and his coauthors study how insights from the biology of the human mind can help to better understand and facilitate learning of key development concepts,...
View ArticleThe informational role of stock prices
In both high-income and developing countries, firms’ long-term funding via equity financing plays a smaller role than bond issuances and syndicated loans (Cortina et al., 2015). However, developed and...
View ArticleThe economic effects of India’s farm loan bailout: business as usual?
In 2008, one year ahead of national elections and against the backdrop of the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, the government of India enacted one of the largest borrower bailout programs in...
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The 2014 Global Findex
I’m thrilled to announce the April 15 launch of the 2014 Global Findex database, the world’s most comprehensive gauge of global financial inclusion. Drawing on interviews with almost 150,000 adults in...
View ArticleThe international bank lending channel of monetary policy rates and QE:...
Various central bankers in emerging market economies have expressed concerns regarding the international spillovers of the U.S. and European quantitative easing, arguing for more coordinated global...
View ArticleOptimal tax policy in a high evasion context: evidence from Pakistan
Despite pressing needs for spending on social services and public investment, most developing countries struggle to raise sufficient tax revenues to meet their needs. Pakistan raises only 10% of GDP...
View ArticleUpdated Global Findex: 62% of adults have an account; 2 billion still unbanked
Today we release our new research paper and the 2014 Global Findex dataset, an updated edition of the world’s most comprehensive gauge of global progress on financial inclusion. It’s based on...
View ArticleThe short-term objectives of long-term investors
Effective management of retirement savings is fast becoming an important agenda in many countries due to a rapidly ageing population. In addition to fulfilling this critical function, pension funds,...
View ArticleFinancial development can boost fiscal response after disasters: insurance...
The frequency of natural hazards has increased over time. From 1970 to 2010, approximately 3.3 million people were killed (on average, 82,500 deaths per year), and the property damages exceeded...
View ArticleDecision day for Greece?
There have been many days over the past five years characterized as the final decision day, climax in a drawn-out attempt to resolve the Greek debt crisis and lead the country back onto a sustainable...
View ArticleMacroeconomic policy coordination and central bank independence after the crisis
Breaking the ‘taboo’? Following the seminal work by Kydland and Prescott (1977) and the vast literature that ensued, [1] central bank independence has become an established, rock solid truth in the...
View ArticleAccess to finance and job growth
The recent global financial crisis has highlighted the impact of credit markets on the real economy, in particular on employment. While an extensive literature exists on how finance can affect...
View ArticleCan wage subsidies boost employment in the wake of an economic crisis?
Unemployment often rises during an economic crisis and policymakers take a range of actions to try to mitigate this increase. For example, 22 countries around the world used some form of wage subsidy...
View ArticleThe Kenyan financial transformation (2000-2015)
Giant leaps in financial inclusion driven by private sector innovation and supportive regulation have made Kenya a case study in financial sector development. A new book brings together a group of...
View ArticleInformed trading in business groups, ownership concentration, and market...
Institutional investors have become the majority owners of most large corporations and are expected to play a key role for financial development by providing funding for firms, enhancing market...
View ArticleThe recent credit surge, seen in historical context
Since the global financial crisis, credit to the private nonfinancial sector in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) has surged. Within this overall surge, however, there has been...
View ArticleThe challenge: How do we measure the mobilisation of private finance?
Massive amounts of private finance will be needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time, there is understandable pressure on official sector entities to demonstrate...
View ArticleMoving toward financial inclusion in East Asia and the Pacific
Surging account ownership among the poor. The highest rate of account ownership among women in developing countries. Widespread formal saving. Those are some of the key financial inclusion trends in...
View ArticleHow long is the maturity of corporate borrowing?
The extent to which firms borrow short versus long term has generated much interest in policy and academic discussions in recent years. For example, concerns of a shortage of long-term investment in...
View ArticleThe Nexus of financial inclusion and stability: Implications for holistic...
Both financial inclusion and financial stability are high on international policy makers’ agenda. For instance, the G-20 has called for global commitments to both advancing financial inclusion (the...
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