This paper presents an empirical analysis of the significance of operational efficiency on MFIs operating costs using both a cross-section and a balanced panel data approach. Using a sample of 750 microfinance institutions operating in Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, the analysis...

The empirical literature over the past decade has often addressed the issue of operational efficiency within microfinance institutions. This paper extends Arnone, Bellavite Pellegrini and Messa (2010), which recognized the importance of strictly financial aspects of MFIs, nearing them to the...

This paper analyses theoretically and empirically the architecture of supervisory powers, including the role of the central bank and the degree of integration of banking supervision with the supervision of securities and insurance companies. We focus on results on Basel Core Principles...

We calculate indexes of central bank autonomy (CBA) for 163 central banks as of end-2003, and comparable indexes for a subgroup of 68 central banks as of the end of the 1980s. The results confirm strong improvements in both economic and political CBA over the past couple of decades, although...

This paper examines the relationship between the quality of banking supervision and governance of the supervisory agency, based on assessments of the Basel Core Principles and the IMF Code on Transparency in Financial Policies, covering 116 and 53 countries, respectively, with 51 common to both....