"This study was commissioned by the Netherlands Financial Sector Development Exchange (NFX) for its conference, 'Mind the Gap : Bankable Approaches to Increase Access to Finance', November 2006, Amsterdam"--P. .

Using cross-country and panel regressions, the authors show that financial sector development significantly reduces undernourishment (hunger), largely through gaining farmers and others access to productivity-enhancing equipment, translating into beneficial income and general effects. They show...

"This paper reviews the evidence on the importance of finance for economic well-being, provides data on the degree of use of basic financial services by households and firms across a sample of countries, assesses the desirability of more universal access, and overviews the macroeconomic, legal,...