Self-dealing, prevalent in emerging markets, often harms minority shareholders. The related-party transaction is one common technique, especially in markets with weak law enforcement. Beyond self-dealing, other methods of expropriation, such as insider trading and dilution of share value, can...

Expanding housing finance to the underserved in South Asia, a first regional effort on the topic, examines housing needs and shortages in South Asia, and outlines shortcomings of the market for home mortgages. The primary purpose of this book is to pull together housing and housing finance...

Access to financing is now widely acknowledged as a path to meaningful economic inclusion and reduction in poverty. Policy efforts to increase access to finance in Pakistan have taken time to bear fruit, but now access is indeed expanding quickly in certain financial sectors (microfinance,...

The authors examine patterns of media ownership in 97 countries around the world. They find that almost universally the largest media firms are controlled by the government or by private families. Government ownership is more pervasive in broadcasting than in the printed media. Government...

Weaknesses in the corporate sector have increasingly been cited as important factors in financial crises in both emerging markets and industrial countries. Analysts have pointed to weak corporate performance and risky financing patterns as major causes of the East Asian financial crisis. And...

The issue of"an appropriate"legal framework, especially in the case of the takeover market, has been poorly studied in the case of emerging markets, yet it is of immediate relevance and practical policymaker interest. The study makes a first attempt to analyze takeover regulations in a...

January 2000 - Corporate financing patterns around the world reflect countries' institutional environments. Weaknesses in the corporate sector have increasingly been cited as important factors in financial crises in both emerging markets and industrial countries. Analysts have pointed to weak...