This paper presents a retrospective review of several key areas of work of the Capital Markets and Financial Institutions Division (CMF) of the Inter-American Development Bank. Presented with each chapter as an independent piece, the paper analyzes the operations portfolio of CMF from 2006 to...

The current coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented public health challenge that has devastating economic impacts for households. Using a sample of 230,540 respondents to online surveys in 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, we show that the economic impacts are large and unequal:...

This paper explores the links between labor formality, access to credit and firm performance in Colombia using Annual Manufacturing Survey data for the period 2000-2009. A significant though small relationship is found between access to credit and informality. The results suggest that a 10...

This paper examines the link between financial deepening and formalization in Peru. Using data from the National Household Survey, Bloomberg and the Central Bank of Peru Central Bank, the Cata~o, Page´s, and Rosales (2009) model is implemented at activity level (2-digits ISIC), and the Rajan...

This paper examines the effect of bank credit on employment formalization in Uruguay. Using a difference-in-differences methodology proposed by Cata~o, Page´s and Rosales (2011), the paper finds that financial deepening decreases informality, especially in more financially dependent sectors....

Esta investigación busca contribuir empíricamente a la discusión sobre el efecto de las microfinanzas. El estudio presenta una evaluación de impacto del uso intensivo del crédito sobre el desempeño de microempresas chilenas con acceso a este tipo de financiamiento. Los resultados...

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of micro-entrepreneurs income on two Brazilian and Chilean microcredit programs. Drawing on two unique sources of data, control groups are built using the propensity score to match beneficiaries of micro-credit programs with non-beneficiaries...

This paper examines a much overlooked link between credit markets and formalization: since access to bank credit typically requires compliance with tax and employment legislation, firms are more likely to incur such formalization costs once bank credit is more widely available at lower cost. The...

The literature on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) finance highlights linkages with large firms in value chains as a possible way to enhance access to credit. However, much of the literature on value chains emphasizes issues of coordination and governance of those linkages and their...

The literature on aid effectiveness has focused more on recipient policies than the determinants of aid allocation yet a consistent result is that political allies obtain more aid from donors than non-allies. This paper shows that aid allocated to political allies is ineffective for growth,...