Since its inception, Islamic banking in Pakistan has shown remarkable growth and development. Most recent statistics unveil that industry has captured around 13% of the total banking market in Pakistan. This outstanding augmentation of the industry highlights the crucial role of Islamic banks...

Using unit-level data on the entire population of registered manufacturing SMEs in 2007 for India, we explore the impact of religiosity on their access to finance. The findings indicate that certain categories of religion, such as Hindus and Sikhs, are less likely to have access to institutional...

This paper explores the significance of Islamic banking in Malaysia for stability in the country's economy as a whole. Neither conventional theory nor Islamic economics puts forward a systematic explanation of financial intermediation; consequently, neither is capable of identifying...

Inefficiencies in mainstream credit markets have pushed selected households to frequent high cost payday loans for their liquidity needs. Ironically, despite the prohibitive cost there is still persistent demand for the product. This paper rides on the public policy objective of expanding...

The phenomenon of political populism and its financial determinants have proved elusive. We utilise the sudden and uneven change in credit conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented government credit guarantee programme in France to investigate whether liquidity support to...

Using a unique corporate loans dataset for entrepreneurs with small and microenterprises, this paper examines how educational attainment affects bank credit decisions and subsequent individual and firm outcomes. Our results highlight a "Matthew Effect," where an initial advantage is...

In the 1910s and 1920s, the major Berlin private banks created extensive branch networks. Among them the Commerzbank stood out in particular, building up the second-largest branch network by the mid-1920s. However, the expansion was plagued by problems from the outset. Until the 1930s,...

Uruguay implemented an ambitious financial inclusion program that included a fiscal stimulus through VAT rebates and subsidies for point of sale (POS) adoption. One of its main provisions banned cash payment of wages and social benefits and forced financial institutions to open wage-accounts...