Examines the institutional factors influencing financial innovation, the consequences of financial development, widespread consolidation occurring through mergers and acquisitions, and the implementation of policy reform.--From publisher description

In the wake of the global financial crisis that began in 2008, this book offers a systematic overview of recent developments in regulatory frameworks in advanced and emerging-market countries, outlining challenges to improving regulation, markets, and access in developing economies. - Provided...

Recent empirical evidence highlights that access to basic financial services can make a substantial positive difference in improving poor people's lives. Accordingly, financial sector reforms that promote financial inclusion are increasingly at the core of policymakers' agendas. The Consultative...

With extensive country and firm-level data sets, this paper first documents that the financial sectors of most Sub-Saharan African countries remain significantly underdeveloped by the standards of other developing countries. The paper also finds that population density appears to be considerably...