Financial Inclusion for inclusive growth is a topic of contemporary significance and relevance. This study besides establishing the growth enhancing role of bank-based financial intermediation through empirical evidence has also found that access to finance by the poor is a prerequisite for...

This study while validating the increasing role for financial intermediaries in economic development has attempted to highlight the importance of reduction of transaction costs for financial deepening and consequent economic growth. It is elucidated that higher transaction costs of borrowing for...

We analyze factors driving persistently higher financial intermediation costs in low-income countries (LICs) relative to emerging market (EM) country comparators. Using the net interest margin as a proxy for financial intermediation costs at the bank level, we find that within LICs a substantial...

We test whether output growth in European economic agglomeration regions depends on financial development. To this end we suggest a relative measure of the quality of financial institutions rather than the usual quantity proxy of financial development. In order to measure the quality of...

Joseph A. Schumpeter is one of the most famous economists of the 20th century and the ’patron saint’ of the finance and growth literature. We have discovered that the prevailing literature has, however, misinterpreted Schumpeter, which leads to puzzling empirical results and difficulties in...

The analysis highlights the aspects of diversified market structures and of local, low-distance banking as advantageous for financial stability. Heterogeneity protects from uniform market behaviour. Local banking can better overcome the problem of asymmetric information, particular in SME...

Microfinance institutions are key financial intermediaries between donors and borrowers in developing countries. Loan officers are crucial for establishing and maintaining the relationship between borrowers and microfinance institutions. This paper studies the impact of loan officers on the loan...

In many small developing countries, the benefits of capital market development are not realized, as banks dominate and stock markets struggle to establish a firm footing in the economy, remaining relatively illiquid and volatile. This paper examines the determinants of stock market volatility in...

Financial intermediaries may increase economic efficiency through intertemporal risk smoothing. However without an adequate regulation, intermediation may fail to do this. This paper studies the effects of a production shock in a closed economy and compares abilities of market-based and...

We analyze factors driving persistently higher financial intermediation costs in low-income countries (LICs) relative to emerging market (EM) country comparators. Using the net interest margin as a proxy for financial intermediation costs at the bank level, we find that within LICs a substantial...