A second-generation model of currency crises is combined with a standard model ofbanks as providers of insurance against liquidity risk. In a pegged exchange rateregime, after funds have been committed to the banks, news arrives about the qualityof the banks’ assets and about the exchange rate...

Group-based lending programs for the poor have become a focus of attention in the development community over the last several years. To date, there has been no comprehensive investigation of their impact on household behavior that has been sufficiently attentive to issues of endogeneity and...

There has been tremendous growth worldwide in the mobilization of financial resources outside traditional banking systems. Channeled mainly through capital markets, such rapid financial diversification is posing new challenges for regulators in many emerging markets. This document describes the...

This paper reports on the microfinance program of Hatton National Bank Limited (HNB), the largest private commercial bank in Sri Lanka. It reviews the experience of HNB, which has initiated a program offering financial services to the poor while continuing its traditional business operations.

Romania lags behind other European Union (EU) countries in many health outcomes. The government of Romania plans to build three new regional hospitals in the North-West (NW), North-East (NE), and South-West (SW) regions. These are envisaged to be tertiary referral hospitals providing highly...

The increasing importance of the Internet, not only for tasks related to information search, storage, and sharing, but also for connecting people and business, domestic and international trade, education, entertainment and social interactions, has led governments around the world to include...

This paper examines interventions that seek to address firm-level capabilities and access to markets in an integrated fashion. Examples of such interventions include supplier development programs (linking domestic SMEs in developing countries with large buyers, such as foreign investors that are...