This book focuses on how the demand for microfinance can be met on a global scale. It documents the contributions of institutions and of people who have led the development of commercial finance for the poor, and it analyzes the principles on which the microfinance revolution is based. In sum,...

Globalization has increased competitive pressures on firms. Together with rapid technological change, it has altered the environment in which firms operate. While globalization offers unprecedented opportunities for firms to act successfully, it simultaneously heightens the risks for firms...

This annual report reviews the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) operations activity during FY03, a period that emphasized coordination, and mutually reinforcing efforts among World Bank Group units, particularly in pursuing private sector development in client countries. The report...

International Debt Statistics (IDS) 2014 is a continuation of the World Bank’s publications Global Development Finance, Volume II (1997 through 2009) and the earlier World Debt Tables (1973 through 1996). IDS 2014 provides statistical tables showing the external debt of 128 developing...

The International Comparison Program (ICP) is a large and highly complex worldwide statistical program conducted under the charter of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC). The ICP is designed to provide globally comparable economic aggregates in national accounts that can be used by...

This country program evaluation (CPE) evaluates World Bank Group (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), or the Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) operations in Brazil from FY2004 through FY2011. It seeks to...