Banking financial intermediation relative to the economy is low and declining. The depthof the Romanian banking sector is lagging both in terms of deposit and loan penetration. Cross-cutting factors such as poverty, rurality and informality form a set of constraints that still persist affecting...

Earmarked credit was about half of total credit in Brazil at end-2015, after declining to one third of total credit in 2007, it is back to the levels in late 1990s. During 2008-15, earmarked credit increased from 12 to close to 30 percent of GDP. Initially, the objective was to counteract the...

This paper examines the effect of finance on long-term economic growth using Bayesian model averaging to address model uncertainty in cross-country growth regressions. The literature largely focuses on financial indicators that assess the financial depth of banks and stock markets. These...

This paper utilizes data for African countries to analyze the extent to which financial development affects the dynamics of the relationship between exchange rate flexibility and economic growth. The findings indicate that financial development exerts a positive influence on the relationship...

Mali is a vast, land-locked country in West Africa with a population of approximately 14.9 million, and a GDP per capita of USD 480. The economy is largely rural, with over two-thirds of the population living off agriculture, notably cotton. Gold is the country's largest export, though...

A national financial inclusion strategy (NFIS) can provide an effective instrument to chart a clear and coordinated path toward improving financial inclusion. An NFIS enables stakeholders to jointly define financial inclusion objectives, identify obstacles and opportunities relevant to the...

The paper provides evidence on the number and volume of financial transactions undertaken by agents (local businesses that double as more convenient, lower cost alternatives to formal branches) of the largest microfinance institution operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More important...

The relationship between bank competition, firm access to finance, and economic growth is a much debated topic in the economic literature and in policy circles. This paper uses a panel of 23 manufacturing sectors over 2002–10 to investigate the impact of bank competition on industry growth in...

This paper discusses the evolution of the Egyptian banking sector and the main trends in financial development in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The paper examines empirically the relationship between the development of the financial sector and economic growth in Egypt between 1980 and 2016. It...