"By developing a simple theoretical model of the impact of market integration on sectoral output and employment in a poor rural setting, this paper demonstrates that trade can induce asymmetric growth. Under certain, plausible, assumptions, the non-farm sector will grow much faster than the...

"South Asia has attracted global attention because it has experienced rapid GDP growth over the last two decades. What is not so well known is that South Asia is the least integrated region in the world. South Asia has opened its door to the rest of the world but it remains closed to its...

"The authors argue that the cross-market premium (the ratio between the domestic and the international market price of cross-listed stocks) provides a valuable measure of international financial integration, reflecting accurately the factors that segment markets and inhibit price arbitrage....

This report follows up on a 2007 World Bank study, Financial Sector Integration in Two Regions of Sub-Saharan Africa: How Creating Scale in Financial Markets Can Support Growth and Development (FSITR henceforth) which identified the opportunities associated with regionalization of financial...

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...

This report assesses some of the key barriers to greater trade and factor market integration in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). The SADC has been a free trade area since 2008, and has an ambitious agenda for further trade integration. This report assesses the roles that...

This report assesses some of the key barriers to greater trade and factor market integration in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). The SADC has been a free trade area since 2008, and has an ambitious agenda for further trade integration. This report assesses the roles that...

"The debate over the curse of natural resources has haunted developing countries for decades if not centuries. A review of existing empirical evidence suggests that the curse remains elusive. The fragile negative effect of natural resources on economic growth might be due to international...

"While providing the most reliable method of evaluating social programs, randomized experiments in industrial and developing countries alike are accompanied by political risks and ethical issues that jeopardize the chances of adopting them. Buddelmeyer and Skoufias use a unique data set from...