The GCM Informer is a monthly newsletter from the Grants and Co- Financing Unit (GCM). The newsletter is intended to inform users of grant financing with useful news and information.Abstract: GCM te informa es un boletín mensual de la Unidad de Gestión de Donaciones y Cofinanciamiento. Su...

This study assesses macroeconomic volatility in Costa Rica, based largely on politically weak governments' inability or unwillingness to effect key reforms. Notable problems include volatility-prone fiscal and monetary policy, structurally weak public finances due to large domestic debts and...

This paper studies the proposition that capital inflows tend to take the form of FDI -i.e., the share of FDI in total liabilities tends to be higher- in countries that are safer, more promising and with better institutions and policies. It finds that this view is patently wrong since it stands...

This paper studies the link between credit conditions and formalization in Brazil, as both credit and the rate of formalization have notably increased in the last decade. A firm dynamics model with endogenous formal and informal sectors is developed to quanti- tatively evaluate how much of the...

This paper presents an integrated overview of the literature linking institutions, financial development and economic growth. From the large body of research on institutional development, the paper first selects those contributions that make it possible to study the role of institutional...

This paper documents the relationship between regional financial development and firm growth in the Peruvian manufacturing sector. In order to control for mutual causality between credit availability and firm growth, industry differences in financial dependence on external funds are exploited....

This paper analyzes the consequences of alternative financial structures for financial efficiency and stability. The focus is on the organizational structure of banks. Alternative bank structures range from 'narrow banks' to broad 'universal banks.' Each banking structure is assessed in its...

This paper provides an overview of the reserve requirement measures undertaken by the Central Bank of Peru. It provides a rationale for the use of these instruments as well as empirical evidence of their effectiveness. In general, the results show that tightening reserve requirements has the...

The importance of having in place a financial regulatory framework that includes macro-prudential regulations was fully recognized during the recent global financial crisis. A central lesson from that episode was that relying on regulations that solely assessed the risks that financial...

China's size, rapid growth, external openness, and trade performance have led to varying perceptions among the countries of Latin America: Is China a potential new market, a potent new competitor, or both? This book assesses the near-term strategic implications of China's economic performance...