Previous empirical analyses have found that bank privatizations are more successful when the government fully relinquishes control, when the bank is privatized to a strategic investor, and when foreign-owned banks are allowed to participate in the bidding. The privatization of Uganda Commercial...

Previous empirical analyses have found that bank privatizations are more successful when the government fully relinquishes control, when the bank is privatized to a strategic investor, and when foreign-owned banks are allowed to participate in the bidding. The privatization of Uganda Commercial...

This paper uses firm-level data to assess whether telecommunication services are general-purpose technologies (technologies that benefit a large segment of the economy and have long-lasting effect). It finds that only Internet services are so: firm growth and productivity are much higher when...

"The authors analyze the different options-liquidation, federalization, privatization, and restructuring-that the Brazilian state government had for the transformation of state banks under the Programa de Incentivo á Redu袯 do Setor Público Estadual na Atividade Bancária (PROES) in the late...

The authors analyze the different options-liquidation, federalization, privatization, and restructuring-that the Brazilian state government had for the transformation of state banks under the Programa de Incentivo ?? Redu????o do Setor P??blico Estadual na Atividade Banc??ria (PROES) in the late...

This paper describes important trade-offs that microfinance practitioners, donors, and regulators navigate. Drawing evidence from large, global surveys of microfinance institutions, the authors find a basic tension between meeting social goals and maximizing financial performance. For example,...

Foreign bank participation has increased steadily across developing countries since the mid-1990s. This paper documents this trend and surveys the existing literature to explore the drivers and consequences of this phenomenon, paying particular attention to the differences observed across...