This paper contains a detailed empirical investigation of the effect of local banking development on firms' innovative activities, using a rich data set on innovation at the firm level for a large number of Italian firms over the 90's. There is evidence that banking development affects the...

This Selected Issues paper on the Republic of Poland constructs a financial conditions index for Poland to explore the link between financial conditions and real economic activity. Measures to contain the fiscal deficit in the aftermath of the global financial crisis led to a reduction in the...

This article focuses on the reform of the Brazilian federal banks throughout the nineties. Preliminarily, the measures compounding the reform and their impacts on the credit supplied by those financial institutions are presented. The existence of a program conducting that set of measures, so far...

Large fiscal financing needs, both in advanced and emerging market economies, have often been met by borrowing heavily from domestic banks. As public debt approached sustainability limits in a number of countries, however, high bank exposure to sovereign risk created a fragile inter-dependence...

The slow-paced growth rate of the U.S. economy, notwithstanding the bolstering attempts is disheartening. Implementing financial reforms and highly accommodative monetary policy are hoped to have a desired effect. Deficit reduction, debt ratio stabilizing strategies, removal of fiscal cliff...

This paper presents a technical note on Crisis Management Arrangements for the United States. The crisis has seen widespread systemic instability, large-scale fiscal support, and an increase in moral hazard. The lack of a formal systematic process for the assessment of risks may have contributed...

The report analyses Spain’s financial sector reform program and throws light on the role that the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) played in supporting the restructuring and recapitalization of its financial sector. It stated that the two major areas that have been looked at...

Various indicators place Cyprus’s banking system soundness ahead of emerging countries but behind advanced economies. This report discusses financial sector stability in Cyprus, using a combination of accounting-based and market-based indicators, and stress tests. Cypriot commercial banks...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.

This study presents a theory of financial infrastructure - or the set of rules, institutions, and systems within which agents carry out financial transactions. It investigates the effects of financial infrastructure development on financial architecture and real capital accumulation, taking into...