This paper tries to improve the identification of firms whose access to bank credit would be threatened by a tightening of monetary policy. It extends a simple competitive credit rationing model with limited collateral by introducing a central bank financing facility. The effects of monetary...

This paper presents a general equilibrium endogenous growth model, in which financial intermediaries evaluate the quality of projects, mobilize savings to finance the most promising ones and diversify risk. Information technology available to banks is linked to geographic proximity. This...

Using time-series tests, the paper provides evidence that fiscal spending can influence long-run growth. Data are examined on six functional categories of public spending (education, health care, social welfare, transport, justice and national defense) over the period 1950 to 1994 for...

During the 1980s and early 1990s many Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries undertook reforms to promote financial sector deepening. Nevertheless, financial sectors in SSA countries remain among the shallowest in the world and, within Sub-Saharan Africa, financial depth in the CFA franc zone is...

The paper investigates the determinants and the macroeconomic role of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa, assembling the most comprehensive dataset available so far on remittances in the region and incorporating data on the diaspora. It finds that remittances are larger for countries with a...

Countries have adopted various institutional responses to subnational government borrowing. Using a sample of 44 countries 1982-2000, this paper provides a panel data analysis to determine the most effective borrowing constraints for containing local fiscal deficits. The results suggest that no...

The paper assesses the changing nature of the relations between the provinces and the central government in China during the 1990s. It examines the fiscal reforms initiated in 1994 and subsequent developments. The expenditure needs of the center and the richer provinces are juxtaposed against...

This paper investigates the determinants and the macroeconomic role of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa. It assembles the most comprehensive data set available so far on remittances in the region; it comprises data for 36 countries for 1990 through 2008, and incorporates newly available data on...

Although there has been research looking at the relationship between the structure of the financial system and economic growth, much less work has dealt with the importance of bank-based versus market-based financial systems for poverty and income distribution. Empirical evidence has indicated...

Workers’ remittances to developing countries have substantially increased over the past decade, both globally and in sub-Saharan Africa. They have been argued to be shock absorbers, increasing when home economies face economic difficulties and have been shown to alleviate poverty. During...