This chapter highlights the growing global and European financial inclusion agenda and provides a brief assessment of vulnerability and labor market outcomes for Roma in Eastern Europe. Financial inclusion is considered by many to be among the main instruments to improve welfare, especially...

This report is meant to support the Slovak Government in its efforts to address the exclusion of the Roma by offering evidence-based policy advice. The assessment relies on three main sources of information. First, it takes advantage of the 2011 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/World...

Early childhood development programs are particularly beneficial to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Effective investments in this area have the potential to reduce inequalities perpetuated by poverty, poor nutrition, and restricted learning opportunities. This report explores the gaps...

What is the economic rationale for Roma inclusion? This report explores the question: What is the economic argument for Roma inclusion?The analysis is based on quantitative data from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, and Serbia, and information from interviews with 222 stakeholders in...

Open banking schemes provide consumers with more choice and new financial products and services through the use of technology, particularly application programing interfaces (API's). The main objective of this paper is to provide guidance on how to implement consumer consent protocols to access...

In South Asia, the modern microfinance movement was born in Bangladesh in the 1970s as a response to the prevailing poverty conditions among its vast rural population. Astonishing growth rates in Bangladesh, particularly during 1990s, created a new dimension for microfinance worldwide as...

The overall state of financial inclusion in Russia is relatively advanced along certain basic metrics. The number of adults with accounts at a financial institution stands at 67.4 percent, which compares well to the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) regional average of 51.4 percent. Account...

Conditions in global financial markets have eased since mid-2012, reflecting improvements in fiscal sustainability and the establishment of mutual support mechanisms in the European Union (EU), even as the global economic recovery remains fragile and susceptible to downside risks. South Africa's...

The development of a far reaching correspondent banking network is one of the key factors behind Brazil's success story in financial inclusion. Between 2005 and 2011, the number of correspondents approximately doubled to more than 160,000. The Central Bank encouraged financial institutions to...

This note focuses on the regulatory and market environment relevant to the emergence and adoption of innovative delivery channels to promote greater financial inclusion in Malaysia. Financial inclusion is defined here not only as providing access to financial services, but also as enabling and...