Investing in better data systems is critical to maximize the impact of social protection programs as more and more countries around the world are aiming to not only reduce poverty and inequality but also to achieve Universal Social Protection (USP). Globally the expansion of social safety net...

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)- World Bank business environment and enterprise performance survey (BEEPS) is a joint initiative of the EBRD and the World Bank. The BEEPS have been carried out in five rounds: in 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2008; the 2011 is currently under...

The Little Data Book on Financial Inclusion 2012 is a pocket edition of the Global Financial Inclusion Index (Global Findex) database providing country-level indicators on the use of formal bank accounts, payments behavior, savings patterns, credit patterns, and insurance decisions. It provides...

"The objective of this paper is to address the main considerations for China of including financial services in its preferential trade agreements. The paper briefly reviews China's financial liberalization process and the state of its domestic financial system, discusses the main considerations...

"The authors look at the depth of the financial sector in Bogota in terms of the "financial exclusion" of those, particularly poorer citizens, who operate without accounts in formal financial institutions-the unbanked. They begin with a review of the overall decline in financial intermediation...

"This paper reviews the evidence on the importance of finance for economic well-being, provides data on the degree of use of basic financial services by households and firms across a sample of countries, assesses the desirability of more universal access, and overviews the macroeconomic, legal,...