Developing economies in East Asia and Pacific are projected to grow at 7.1 % in 2013, down from 7.5 percent last year. While the pace of growth is slowing, the region will still contribute 40% of global growth and one-third of global trade this year †“ higher than any other region in the...

This annual report covers the period from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2002, and is prepared by the Executive Directors of both the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). The first of two volumes discusses the World Bank's...

"Using a unique sample of net domestic product data for districts in India, I investigate the connection between banking sector development, human capital, and economic growth at the sub-national level. Using disaggregate data avoids many of the omitted variable problems that plague...

"The authors examine whether financial development boosts the growth of small firms more than large firms and hence provides information on the mechanisms through which financial development fosters aggregate economic growth. They define an industry's technological firm size as the firm size...

"The relationships among competition in the financial sector, access of firms to external financing, and associated economic growth are ambiguous in theory. Moreover, measuring competition in the financial sector can be complex. In this paper Claessens and Laeven first estimate for 16 countries...

"Loayza and Rancire study the apparent contradiction between two strands of the literature on the effects of financial intermediation on economic activity. On the one hand, the empirical growth literature finds a positive effect of financial depth as measured by, for instance, private domestic...