Financial globalisation has been associated with divergent current account patterns inemerging market economies. While countries in emerging Asia have been runningsizeable current account surpluses, countries in emerging Europe have been facing largecurrent account deficits. In this paper we...

This paper studies the relationship between investor protection, financial risk sharing and income inequality. In the presence of market frictions, better protection makesinvestors more willing to take on entrepreneurial risk while lending to firms. This implies lower cost of external finance...

In the early 1990s, a consensus emerged among the leading experts in the field of small and micro business finance. It is based on three elements: The focus of projects should be on improving the entire financial sector of a given developing country; a commercial approach should be adopted,...

In light of the recent financial crises in the emerging markets, the coming-into-force of the financial services agreement under the GATS has been considered a success. While the agreement provides forlittle new liberalization but rather formalizes the status quo, it was feared that governments...

Zugang zu Krediten ist für kleine und mittelgroße Unternehmen in Entwicklungsländern von großer Bedeutung, um ihre ökonomischen Möglichkeiten besser auszuschöpfen und so die Einkommen ihrer Besitzer, aber auch ihrer Mitarbeiter zu erhöhen. Deshalb hat die Entwicklungshilfe in der...

The paper is a follow-up to an article published in Technique Financière etDeveloppement in 2000 (see the appendix to the hardcopy version), which portrayedthe first results of a new strategy in the field of development finance implemented inSouth-East Europe. This strategy consists in creating...

We use portfolio theory to quantify the efficiency of state-level sectoral patterns of production in the United States. On the basis of observed growth in sectoral value-added output, we calculate for each state the efficient frontier for investments in the real economy. We study how rapidly...

The transformation of private savers’ funds into business loans – the very essential function ofbanking intermediation - is weak in Belarus compared to other Eastern European economies.High concentration, governmental interference, an inconsistent regulation and a difficultbusiness environment...

An interesting puzzle is that trade liberalization in the 1980s and 1990s has been associated with a sharp increase in the skill premium in both developed and developing countries.This is in contrast with neoclassical theory, according to which trade should increase therelative return of the...

This paper analyzes the theoretical underpinnings of high-frequency repayment, a featurein nearly all microfi…nance contracts that has been largely overlooked by theorists. The pervasive belief among practitioners that frequent repayment is critical in achieving high repaymentrates is puzzling....