Raising Armenia's long-term growth prospects is critical to meet the pressing need for jobs, achieve higher living standards, and arrest emigration. Armenia's long-term growth prospects have weakened since the global COVID-19 crisis, while recent global and regional the geopolitical developments...

Complex business regulations and bureaucratic processes tend to be obstacles for new entrepreneurs. To navigate these processes as smoothly as possible, entrepreneurs may solicit the services of third-party professionals. Whether in business incorporation or land transactions, third-party agents...

Declining but still high dollarization rates in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) region affect macroeconomic stability, monetary policy transmission, and financial sector development. Although several studies have investigated the dynamics of dollarization in the CCA, the relative roles of...

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa are exposed to significant fiscal risks. This paper analyzes the sources of these fiscal risks in 17 low- and middle-income countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan region, excluding high-income Gulf countries (MENAPEG), and discusses...

Declining but still high dollarization rates in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) region affect macroeconomic stability, monetary policy transmission, and financial sector development. Although several studies have investigated the dynamics of dollarization in the CCA, the relative roles of...

Are market experts prone to heuristics, and if so, do they transfer across closely related domains --- buying and selling? We investigate this question using a unique dataset of institutional investors with portfolios averaging $573 million. A striking finding emerges: while there is clear...

Are market experts prone to heuristics, and if so, do they transfer across closely related domains--buying and selling? We investigate this question using a unique dataset of institutional investors with portfolios averaging $573 million. A striking finding emerges: while there is clear evidence...

The COVID-19 crisis raises the risk of renewed financial sector pressures in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) region in the period ahead. Bank distress and its economic and fiscal fallout have been recurring features of many CCA countries, as seen after the global financial crisis and the...