In the past two years, ACCION has worked with several institutions in Latin America and Africa to institute or expand rural lending programs. These efforts have resulted in successful rural penetration as well as a range of microcredit products adapted for rural areas. This InSight briefly...

The issue I want to take up here is how networks influence firm business not only from the costs and R&D side, but also from the demand side because of substitution - complementarity effects. In other words firms face networks at every intermediate level that has to meet the market. I will...

The collapse and subsequent nationalization of Northern Rock in 2007-08 was the first major run on a UK retail bank since 1866. The Northern Rock case is exemplary on two fronts. First, described at the time of its collapse as an example of an aggressive business model employed by naïve...

The major reason of economic depression of old industrial regions is the aging of their economic structure and loss of competitive advantages of their basic sectors. Not the sectors of the regional economy are getting old but determined by economic age conditions of their development in the...

Between 1981 and 2001 Italy became a services-oriented economy. The loss of jobs in manufacturing was less pronounced in Italy's organized industrial districts than in the rest of the country. The branches of manufacturing that typify the districts outperformed the others in terms of employment...

This paper studies the case of the Marche footwear districts. Statistical evidence and interviews with entrepreneurs suggest that the traditional inter-firm relationships within these districts have significantly changed during the past decade. Some leading firms have been building up more...

Marshall's student Pigou noted: quot;It's all in Marshall.quot; From a static point of view, this seems rather bold in a constantly changing world. However, this statement becomes more plausible in a dynamic context, where principles are subject to change. Indeed, over time, Marshall's concept...

Building on the literature on agglomeration economies, this study examines how urbanization, industry-diversification, district economics and incubating initiatives are associated to the creation of innovative start-ups in Italy. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 6,018 innovative...