We use bank level data to study the efficiency of banks in Sub-Saharan African middle-income countries and provide possible explanations for the difference in the efficiency levels of banks. We find that banks, on average, could save 20-30 percent of their total costs if they were operating...

Bahrain's financial sector development strategy succeeded in building a leading regional banking center, which has become one of the main engines of growth and sources of employment. Although the simulations conducted in the paper suggest that the banking sector in Bahrain continues to occupy a...

Cost-efficiency, scale efficiency, and productivity change are estimated by data envelopment analysis; and cost-efficiency is regressed on explanatory variables. No evidence is found for average productivity responding to deregulation over the period studied. State-owned banks are found to be...

Japan’s position is one of the largest and richest economies in the world. Tokyo as a financial marketplace is not a major intermediator of global capital flows. The current macroeconomic environment is conducive to spillovers being larger than captured by the empirical analysis. Apart...

This Selected Issues paper reports that the Philippines is influenced by global developments through both trade and financial channels. Weaker global growth hurts demand for Philippine exports, which in turn affects consumption and investment. The financial system has only limited exposure to...

This 2012 Article IV Consultation reports that the German economy’s performance has been remarkable despite facing considerable headwinds. Several conditions are now in place in Germany for a domestic demand-led recovery. Employment creation has been robust and unemployment at 5.3 percent...

Staff Report for the 2012 Article IV consultation, prepared by a staff team of the IMF, following discussions that ended on July 6, 2012, with the officials of Indonesia on economic developments and policies. Based on information available at the time of these discussions, the staff report was...

The Chinese authorities welcomed the spillover analysis, noting that their policies have important global spillover effects. The note also discusses China’s evolving role in global trade, impact of rebalancing on the supply chain, estimating China’s spillovers, elasticities...

Japan showed strong economic recovery from the crisis. Executive Directors welcomed the development and stressed the need for a strong monetary framework, well-designed fiscal consolidation, and structural reforms. Directors agreed that the Bank of Japan’s monetary framework is well...

Germany’s economic growth and recovery from the global crisis are explained in this study. Tax, education, and innovation policies are specific measures supported by the authorities. External and financial shocks received by Germany and other outward spillovers are outlined. Germany has a...