This World Bank Discussion Paper brings together two contributions on external debt issues. The first paper discusses the insurability of sovereign debt against default. The second paper reviews numerous studies that have been conducted over the years to identify the variables that could predict...

Over the last two decades banking systems in Latin America have been subject to considerable banking distress and numerous crises. This conference looked at proposals for preventing such episodes. The discussions covered the genesis and implications of deposit insurance cum fractional reserve...

Private and public sector sponsors of infrastructure, industrial and other commercial projects in developing countries are looking increasingly to the project finance structure to fund these operations. The World Bank has an array of financial instruments to support these projects. This paper...

This study evaluates the performance of financial markets in rural areas of Romania based on the 1998 rural household, rural enterprise, and financial intermediary surveys, along with other official statistical data for 1997. It presents empirical evidence indicating that constrained access to...

The fragmentation in African financial markets and its persistence despite reforms to liberalize those markets have been difficult to explain. This paper reports findings from surveys of formal and informal institutions and their clients in Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania to test hypotheses...

The main objective of this report is to evaluate World Bank lending for small enterprises between FY89 and FY93, including both small and medium enterprises and microenterprises. There has been a marked shift in the Bank's work in this area, and this review details the nature and content of this...

This paper presents an innovative yet practical framework to assess corporate sector vulnerability and the links to exchange rates and financial crises that bridges the gap between corporate finance and macroeconomic analysis. This framework missing describing how changes in aggregate value of...

The national economy of Vietnam was affected by the April 2020 lockdown meant to contain the domestic spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) virus and subsequent outbreaks in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. Nevertheless, the economy showed exceptional resilience. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by...

This is the first of three Debt Reports for 2022 to be published online over the course of the year to provide users with data and analysis on external and public debt of low- and middle-income countries. Debt Report 2022 First Edition present summary analyses of the composition of external debt...