"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,...

"A well developed financial system enhances competition in the industrial sector by allowing easier entry. The impact varies across industries, however. For some, small changes in financial development quickly induce entry and dissipate incumbents' rents, generating strong incentives to oppose...

Securities markets in Mexico are orderly and relatively innovative; however, corporate markets lag behind those in comparator countries. The government bond market accounts for the bulk of the fixed-income segment, and is well developed and active. While financial savings rates have been growing,...

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), the Capital Markets Board and the Banking Regulation and Supervisory Authority (BRSA) are the authorities with responsibility for specific elements of the Turkey National Payments System (NPS). The CBRT, is the central bank and has regulatory...

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...

During Myanmar's decade of reforms, financial sector reforms were widely recognized to be a critical underpinning of Myanmar's democratization process, enabling the transition to a more egalitarian, accessible economy. Accordingly, the government developed a program of wide-ranging financial...

"Powell, Mylenko, Miller, and Majnoni analyze how data in public credit registries can be used both to strengthen bank supervision and to improve the quality of credit analysis by financial institutions. Empirical tests using public credit registry (PCR) data were performed in collaboration with...