Competition in the financial sector, as in other sectors, matters for allocative, productive, and dynamic efficiency …. Theory suggests, however, that unfettered competition is not necessarily best given the special features of financial … services. The author discusses these analytical complications before reviewing how to assess competition in the financial …

As in other sectors, competition in finance matters for allocative, productive and dynamic efficiency. Theory suggests …, however, that unfettered competition is not first best given the special features of finance. I review these analytics and … describe how to assess the degree of competition in markets for financial services. Existing research shows that the degree of …

"The relationships among competition in the financial sector, access of firms to external financing, and associated … economic growth are ambiguous in theory. Moreover, measuring competition in the financial sector can be complex. In this paper … Claessens and Laeven first estimate for 16 countries a measure of banking system competition based on industrial organization …