This paper is an analysis of Japan’s credit channel. The economic condition has no hindrance, but credit demand showed an inert performance. The state’s policies have helped the flow of finance and prevent bankruptcy, but several other aspects act as an impediment to credit...

This paper-consisting of a regional study and seven country studies-reviews the state of domestic public debt markets in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama as at end-2005. Although they account for the lion's share of capital markets, regional...

At the height of the Great Depression a number of leading U.S. economists advanced a proposal for monetary reform that became known as the Chicago Plan. It envisaged the separation of the monetary and credit functions of the banking system, by requiring 100% reserve backing for deposits. Irving...

The aim of this paper is to characterize the empirical implications for dynamic investment models of the hierarchy of finance model of corporate finance and to test these implications using firm level data. The model we estimate is based on the Euler equation for optimal capital accumulation in...

Based on the experience of selected countries, this paper offers a critical presentation of the development of the microfinance sector in Africa. The paper supports the view that microfinance institutions, especially those engaged in full financial intermediation, complement effectively the...

Many governments and nongovernmental organizations have adopted policies to promote the growth of microfinance institutions (MFIs). The appropriate level and form of support for MFIs are discussed in this paper on the basis of a review of key MFI characteristics. Governments are also responsible...

This paper examines each major element of the village banking technology and how it has been liberalized so far, particularly in four leading Latin American village banking institutions: FINCA Nicaragua, Pro Mujer Bolivia, Compartamos (in Mexico), and CRECER (in Bolivia). It then analyzes how...

The Conference gave impetus to the changing paradigm for assistance to small enterprises: away from the direct provision of business development services by governments and donor agencies toward the development of markets for BDS appropriate to the needs of small enterprises. By facilitating the...

This study analyzes the impact of judicial inefficiency on small businesses in Peru. It is based on the hypothesis that chronic problems in the region's judicial systems have negative consequences on the development of micro, small and medium-sized businesses. The analysis focuses, first, on the...