Bulgaria's financial integration with Europe has been essential in financing economic transition and spurring economic growth. As the sovereign debt turmoil in Europe casts a cloud over the financial sector, the development of capital markets over the medium term may offer a beneficial...

Over the past decade or so, the prospects of long term economic, institutional and social gains from regional and global financial and trade liberalization have become more appealing to public and private stakeholders. Indeed, since the late 1980’s both developing and advanced economies have...

Malawi needs to focus on exports to maintain and broaden its current inspiring levels of economic growth. The focus of future policy should therefore be on reforms that improve competitiveness in global and regional markets. This does not require a fundamental shift in direction, but instead a...

The proliferation of regional trade agreements is fundamentally altering the world trade landscape. The number of agreements in force surpasses 200 and has risen eight-fold in two decades. Today as much as 40 percent of global trade takes place among countries that have some form of reciprocal...

The forces unleashed by the Arab political awakening have the power to be transformational. One critical parameter of success will be whether the Arab political awakening is accompanied by a concurrent economic awakening. Economic integration through increased trade and foreign direct investment...

The forces unleashed by the Arab political awakening have the power to be transformational. One critical parameter of success will be whether the Arab political awakening is accompanied by a concurrent economic awakening. Economic integration through increased trade and foreign direct investment...

Postal networks in the nine countries in the Asian region profiled here have 289,067 post offices. In many of these Asian countries, post offices have provided payments and savings services for more than 130 years. At the end of 2002, 335 million Asians had postal savings accounts, for a total...