Theories based on incomplete contracting suggest that small organizations may do better than large organizations in activities that require the processing of soft information. We explore this idea in the context of bank lending to small firms, an activity that is typically thought of as relying...

In the mid-1990s, mainstream economists of nearly all stripes commonly recommended capital account liberalization -- that is, allowing a free flow of funds in and out of a country's economy -- as an essential step in the process of economic development. But then came the East Asian financial...

We examine the effects of aid on growth in cross-sectional and panel data-after correcting for the possible bias that poorer (or stronger) growth may draw aid contributions to recipient countries. Even after this correction, we find little robust evidence of a positive (or negative) relationship...

Initial inequality in endowments and opportunities, together with low average levels of endowments, can create constituencies in a society that combine to paralyze reforms, even though the status quo hurts them collectively. Each constituency prefers reforms that expand its opportunities, but in...

Theory suggests the reduction in financing capacity after the failure of a financial intermediary can reduce the value of financial assets. Forced sales of the intermediary's assets could consume liquidity, depressing the liquidation value of the assets of healthy intermediaries and causing...

The unshackling of India from its historically low rate of growth has occurred. The challenge of maintaining high growth rates in some states and igniting them in the presently bypassed and marginalized states has to be met squarely. Sustaining high overall growth rates would require that rising...