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Abstract:
Financial systems tend to be more market-based in higher income countries, where stock markets also become more active and efficient than banks.

Financial systems also tend to be more market-based, even after controlling for income, in countries with a common law tradition, strong protection of shareholder rights, good accounting standards, low levels of corruption, and no explicit deposit insurance.

What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of bank-based financial systems (as in Germany and Japan) and market-based financial systems (as in England and the United States). Does financial structure matter?

In bank-based systems banks play a leading role in mobilizing savings, allocating capital, overseeing the investment decisions of corporate managers, and providing risk management vehicles.

In market-based systems securities markets share center stage with banks in getting society's savings to firms, exerting corporate control, and easing risk management.

The unresolved debate about whether markets or bank-based intermediaries are more effective at providing financial services hampers the formation of sound policy advice.

Demirguc-Kunt and Levine use newly collected data on a cross-section of roughly 150 countries to illustrate how financial systems differ around the world. They (1) analyze how the size, activity, and efficiency of financial systems differ across different per capita income groups, (2) define different indicators of financial structure and identify different patterns as countries become richer, and (3) investigate legal, regulatory, and policy determinants of financial structure after controlling for per capita GDP.

A clear pattern emerges:
- Banks, other financial intermediaries, and stock markets all grow and become more active and efficient as countries become richer. As income grows, the financial sector develops.
- In higher income countries, stock markets become more active and efficient than banks. Thus, financial systems tend to be more market based.
- Countries with a common law tradition, strong protection for shareholder rights, good accounting standards, low levels of corruption, and no explicit deposit insurance tend to be more market-based, even after controlling for income.
- Countries with a French civil law tradition, poor accounting standards, heavily restricted banking systems, and high inflation generally tend to have underdeveloped financial systems, even after controlling for income.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to study the impact of financial structure on economic development.

Abstract:
Differences in interest margins reflect differences in bank characteristics, macroeconomic conditions, existing financial structure and taxation, regulation, and other institutional factors.

Using bank data for 80 countries for 1988-95, Demirguc-Kunt and Huizinga show that differences in interest margins and bank profitability reflect various determinants:

Bank characteristics.
Macroeconomic conditions.
Explicit and implicit bank taxes.
Regulation of deposit insurance.
General financial structure.
Several underlying legal and institutional indicators.

Controlling for differences in bank activity, leverage, and the macroeconomic environment, they find (among other things) that:

Banks in countries with a more competitive banking sector-where banking assets constitute a larger share of GDP-have smaller margins and are less profitable. The bank concentration ratio also affects bank profitability; larger banks tend to have higher margins.

Well-capitalized banks have higher net interest margins and are more profitable. This is consistent with the fact that banks with higher capital ratios have a lower cost of funding because of lower prospective bankruptcy costs.

Differences in a bank's activity mix affect spread and profitability. Banks with relatively high noninterest-earning assets are less profitable. Also, banks that rely largely on deposits for their funding are less profitable, as deposits require more branching and other expenses. Similarly, variations in overhead and other operating costs are reflected in variations in bank interest margins, as banks pass their operating costs (including the corporate tax burden) on to their depositors and lenders.

In developing countries foreign banks have greater margins and profits than domestic banks. In industrial countries, the opposite is true.

Macroeconomic factors also explain variation in interest margins. Inflation is associated with higher realized interest margins and greater profitability. Inflation brings higher costs-more transactions and generally more extensive branch networks-and also more income from bank float. Bank income increases more with inflation than bank costs do.

There is evidence that the corporate tax burden is fully passed on to bank customers in poor and rich countries alike.
Legal and institutional differences matter. Indicators of better contract enforcement, efficiency in the legal system, and lack of corruption are associated with lower realized interest margins and lower profitability.

This paper - a product of the Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to study bank efficiency.

bank profitability, taxation, financial structure

Abstract:
A country's legal origin - whether British, French, German, or Scandinavian - helps explain the development of its financial institutions today. Legal systems differ in their ability to facilitate private exchanges and to adapt to support new financial and commercial transactions. A country cannot change its legal origin, but it can (with considerable effort) reform its judicial system by emphasizing the rights of outside investors, by providing more certain and efficient contract enforcement, and by creating a legal system that adapts more readily to changing economic conditions.

Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Levine assess three established theories about the historical determinants of financial development. They also propose an augmented version of one of these theories.

The law and finance view stresses that different legal traditions emphasize to differing degrees the rights of individual investors relative to the state, which has important ramifications for financial development.

The dynamic law and finance view augments the law and finance view, stressing that legal traditions also differ in their ability to adapt to changing conditions.

The politics and finance view rejects the central role of legal tradition, stressing instead that political factors shape financial development.

The endowment view argues that the mortality rates of European settlers as they colonized various parts of the globe influenced the institutions they initially created, which has had enduring effects on institutions today. When initial conditions produced an unfavorable environment for European settlers, colonialists tended to create institutions designed to extract resources expeditiously, not to foster long-run prosperity.

The authors' empirical results are most consistent with theories that stress the role of legal tradition. The results provide qualified support for the endowment view. The data are least consistent with theories that focus on specific characteristics of the political structure, although politics can obviously affect the financial sector.

In other words, legal origin - whether a country has a British, French, German, or Scandinavian legal heritage - helps explain the development of the country's financial institutions today, even after other factors are controlled for. Countries with a French legal tradition tend to have weaker financial institutions, while those with common law and German civil laws tend to have stronger financial institutions.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the link between financial development and economic growth. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project "Financial Structure and Economic Development" (RPO 682-41). The authors may be contacted at tbeck@worldbank.org, ademirguckunt@worldbank.org, or rlevine@csom.umn.edu.

Abstract:
For countries with underdeveloped financial systems, a move toward a more developed financial system reduces bank margins and profitability. Controlling for both bank and market development, financial structure per se - the development of banks relative to that of markets-appears to have no independent effect on bank performance.

Countries differ in the extent to which their financial systems are bank-based or market-based. The financial systems of Germany and Japan, for example, are considered bank-based because banks play a leading role in mobilizing savings, allocating capital, overseeing investment decisions of corporate managers, and providing risk management vehicles. The systems of the United States and the United Kingdom are considered more market-based.

Using bank-level data for a large number of industrial and developing countries, Demirguc-Kunt and Huizinga present evidence about the impact of financial development and structure on bank performance. They measure the relative importance of bank or market finance by the relative size of stock aggregates, by relative trading or transaction volumes, and by indicators of relative efficiency.

They show that in developing countries both banks and stock markets are less developed, but financial systems tend to be more bank-based. The richer the country, the more active are all financial intermediaries.

The greater the development of a country's banks, the tougher is the competition, the greater is the efficiency, and the lower are the bank margins and profits.

The more underdeveloped the stock market, the greater are the bank profits. But financial structure per se does not have a significant, independent influence on bank margins and profits.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to study financial structure and development. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Financial Structure and Economic Development (RPO 682-41). The authors may be contacted at ademirguckunt@worldbank.org or h.p.huizinga@kub.nl.

Abstract:
This new database of indicators of financial development and structure across countries and over time unites a range of indicators that measure the size, activity, and efficiency of financial intermediaries and markets.

Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Levine introduce a new database of indicators of financial development and structure across countries and over time.
This database is unique in that it unites a variety of indicators that measure the size, activity, and efficiency of financial intermediaries and markets.

It improves on previous efforts by presenting data on the public share of commercial banks, by introducing indicators of the size and activity of nonbank financial institutions, and by presenting measures of the size of bond and primary equity markets.

The compiled data permit the construction of financial structure indicators to measure whether, for example, a country's banks are larger, more active, and more efficient than its stock markets.

These indicators can then be used to investigate the empirical link between the legal, regulatory, and policy environment and indicators of financial structure. They can also be used to analyze the implications of financial structure for economic growth.

Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Levine describe the sources and construction of, and the intuition behind, different indicators and present descriptive statistics.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a broader effort in the group to understand the determinants of financial structure and its importance to economic development. The authors may be contacted at tbeck@worldbank.org, ademirguckunt@worldbank.org, or rlevine@csom.umn.edu.

Abstract:
This paper describes a new cross-country database on the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This database is unique in that it presents consistent and comparable information on the contribution of the SME sector to total employment and GDP across different countries. The dataset improves on existing publicly available datasets on several grounds. First, it extends coverage to a broader set of developing and industrial economies. Second, it provides information on the contribution of the SME sector using a uniform definition of SMEs across different countries, allowing for consistent cross-country comparisons. Third, while we follow the traditional definition of the SME sector as being part of the formal sector, the new database also includes the size of the SME sector relative to the informal sector. This paper describes the sources and the construction of the different indicators, presents descriptive statistics, and explores correlations with other socioeconomic variables.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to study SME-related issues.

Abstract:
We investigate how differences in legal and financial systems affect firms' use of external financing to fund growth. We show that in countries whose legal systems score high on an efficiency index, a greater proportion of firms use long-term external financing. An active, though not necessarily large, stock market and a large banking sector are also associated with externally financed firm growth. The increased reliance on external financing occurs in part because established firms in countries with well-functioning institutions have lower profit rates. Government subsidies to industry do not increase the proportion of firms relying on external financing.

Abstract:
We investigate how differences in legal and financial systems affect firms' use of external financing to fund growth. We show that in countries whose legal systems score high on an efficiency index, a greater proportion of firms use long-term external financing. An active, though not necessarily large, stock market and a large banking sector are also associated with externally financed firm growth. The increased reliance on external financing occurs in part because established firms in countries with well-functioning institutions have lower profit rates. Government subsidies to industry do not increase the proportion of firms relying on external financing.

Abstract:
The three most developed stock markets are in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the most underdeveloped markets are in Colombia, Nigeria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. Markets tend to be more developed in richer countries, but some markets commonly labeled emerging (for example, in Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand) are systematically more developed than some markets commonly labeled developed (for example, in Australia, Canada, and many European countries).

World stock markets are booming. Between 1982 and 1993, stock market capitalization grew from $2 trillion to $10 trillion, an average 15 percent a year. A disproportionate amount of this growth was in emerging stock markets, which rose from 3 percent of world stock market capitalization to 14 percent in the same period. Yet there is little empirical evidence about how important stock markets are to long-term economic development. Economists have neither a common concept nor a common measure of stock market development, so we know little about how stock market development affects the rest of the financial system or how corporations finance themselves.

Demirguc-Kunt and Levine collected and compared many different indicators of stock market development using data on 41 countries from 1986 to 1993. Each indicator has statistical and conceptual shortcomings, so they used different measures of stock market size, liquidity, concentration, and volatility, of institutional development, and of international integration. Their goal: To summarize information about a variety of indicators for stock market development, in order to facilitate research into the links between stock markets, economic development, and corporate financing decisions. They highlight certain important correlations:

In the 41 countries they studied, there are enormous cross-country differences in the level of stock market development for each indicator. The ratio of market capitalization to GDP, for example, is greater than 1 in five countries and less than 0.10 in five others.

There are intuitively appealing correlations among indicators. For example, big markets tend to be less volatile, more liquid, and less concentrated in a few stocks. Internationally integrated markets tend to be less volatile. And institutionally developed markets tend to be large and liquid.

The three most developed markets are in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The most underdeveloped markets are in Colombia, Nigeria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Switzerland seem to have highly developed stock markets, whereas Argentina, Greece, Pakistan, and Turkey have underdeveloped markets. Markets tend to be more developed in richer countries, but many markets commonly labeled emerging (for example, in Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand) are systematically more developed than markets commonly labeled developed (for example, in Australia, Canada, and many European countries).

Between 1986 and 1993, some markets developed rapidly in size, liquidity, and international integration. Indonesia, Portugal, Turkey, and Venezuela experienced explosive development, for example. Case studies on the reasons for (and economic consequences of) this rapid development could yield valuable insights. The level of stock market development is highly correlated with the development of banks, nonbank financial institutions (finance companies, mutual funds, brokerage houses), insurance companies, and private pension funds.

This paper - a product of the Finance and Private Sector Development Division, Policy Research Department - is part of a larger effort in the department to study stock market development. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Stock Market Development and Financial Intermediary Growth (RPO 678-37).

Abstract:
A study of 53 countries during 1980-95 finds that financial liberalization increases the probability of a banking crisis, but less so where the institutional environment is strong. In particular, respect for the rule of law, a low level of corruption, and good contract enforcement are relevant institutional characteristics. The data also show that, after liberalization, financially repressed countries tend to have improved financial development even if they experience a banking crisis. This is not true for financially restrained countries. This paper`s results support a cautious approach to financial liberalization where institutions are weak, even if macroeconomic stabilization has been achieved.

Financial liberalization, banking crises, financial development

Abstract:
May 1998

Banking crises are more likely to occur in liberalized financial systems. Financial liberalization should be approached cautiously - even where macroeconomic stabilization has been achieved - in countries where there is little respect for the rule of law, poor contract enforcement, and a high level of corruption.

Demirguc-Kunt and Detragiache study the empirical relationship between banking crises and financial liberalization using a panel of data for 53 countries for 1980-95.

They find that banking crises are more likely to occur in liberalized financial systems. But financial liberalization's impact on a fragile banking sector is weaker where the institutional environment is strong - especially where there is respect for the rule of law, a low level of corruption, and good contract enforcement.

They examine evidence on the behavior of bank franchise values after liberalization. They also examine evidence on the relationship between financial liberalization, banking crises, financial development, and growth.

The results support the view that, even in the presence of macroeconomic stabilization, financial liberalization should be approached cautiously in countries where institutions to ensure legal behavior, contract enforcement, and effective prudential regulation and supervision are not fully developed.

This paper - a joint product of the World Bank's Development Research Group and the International Monetary Fund's Research Department - is part of a larger effort to study financial liberalization. The authors may be contacted at ademirguckunt@worldbank.org or edetragiache@imf.org.

Abstract:
Motivated by public policy debates about bank consolidation and conflicting theoretical predictions about the relationship between the market structure of the banking industry and bank fragility, this paper studies the impact of bank concentration, bank regulations, and national institutions on the likelihood of suffering a systemic banking crisis. Using data on 70 countries from 1980 to 1997, we find that crises are less likely in economies with (i) more concentrated banking systems, (ii) fewer regulatory restrictions on bank competition and activities, and (iii) national institutions that encourage competition.

Abstract:
Motivated by public policy debates about bank consolidation and conflicting theoretical predictions about the relationship between the market structure of the banking industry and bank fragility, this paper studies the impact of bank concentration, bank regulations, and national institutions on the likelihood of suffering a systemic banking crisis. Using data on 70 countries from 1980 to 1997, we find that crises are less likely in economies with (i) more concentrated banking systems, (ii) fewer regulatory restrictions on bank competition and activities, and (iii) national institutions that encourage competition.

Industrial Structure, Banking System Fragility, Regulation

Abstract:
The authors examine whether financial development boosts the growth of small firms more than large firms and hence provides information on the mechanisms through which financial development fosters aggregate economic growth. They define an industry's technological firm size as the firm size implied by industrial specific production technologies, including capital intensities and scale economies. Using cross-industry, cross-country data, the results indicate that financial development exerts a disproportionately large effect on the growth of industries that are technologically more dependent on small firms. This suggests that financial development accelerates economic growth by removing growth constraints on small firms and also implies that financial development has sectoral as well as aggregate growth ramifications.

This paper - a product of the Finance Group, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the growth finance link.

Firm Size, Financial Development, Economic Growth

Abstract:
This paper examines whether financial development boosts the growth of small firms more than large firms and hence provides information on the mechanisms through which financial development fosters aggregate economic growth. We define an industry's technological firm size as the firm size implied by industry specific production technologies, including capital intensities and scale economies. Using cross-industry, cross-country data, the results indicate that financial development exerts a disproportionately large effect on the growth of industries that are technologically more dependent on small firms. This suggests that financial development accelerates economic growth by removing growth constraints on small firms and also implies that financial development has sectoral as well as aggregate growth ramifications.

Abstract:
Does the entry of foreign banks make domestic banks more competitive? This study shows that, in developing countries, increasing the number (even more than the share) of foreign banks reduces both profits and overhead expenses of domestic banks.

Banking markets are becoming increasingly international through financial liberalization and general economic integration.

Using bank-level data for 80 countries for 1988-95, Claessens, Demirguc-Kunt, and Huizinga examine the extent of foreign ownership in national banking markets. They compare net interest margins, overhead, taxes paid, and profitability of foreign and domestic banks.

The comparative functions of foreign banks and domestic banks is very different in developing and industrial countries, possibly because of a different customer base, different bank procedures, and different regulatory and tax regimes:
° In developing countries foreign banks tend to have greater profits, higher interest margins, and higher tax payments than do domestic banks.
° In industrial countries it is the domestic banks that have greater profits, higher interest margins, and higher tax payments.

It is common to read, in the literature on foreign banking, that the entry of foreign banks can make national banking markets more competitive, thereby forcing domestic banks to operate more efficiently. Claessens, Demirguc-Kunt, and Huizinga show that increasing the foreign share of bank ownership does indeed reduce profitability and overhead expenses in domestically owned banks - so the general effect of foreign bank entry may be positive.

Interestingly, the number of foreign entrants matters more than their market share, suggesting that they affect local bank competition more on entry rather than after gaining a substantial market share.

These effects hold even when controlling for the fact that foreign banks may be attracted to markets with certain characteristics, such as low banking costs.

This paper - a joint product of the East Asia and Pacific Region and the Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the Bank to study the effects of increasing global integration of financial services. The authors may be contacted at cclaessens @worldbank.org, ademirguckunt@worldbank.org, or H.P.Huizinga@Kub.NL.

Abstract:
This paper examines the impact of bank regulations, market structure, and national institutions on bank net interest margins and overhead costs using data on over 1,400 banks across 72 countries while controlling for bank-specific characteristics. The data indicate that tighter regulations on bank entry and bank activities boost the cost of financial intermediation. Inflation also exerts a robust, positive impact on bank margins and overhead costs. While concentration is positively associated with net interest margins, this relationship breaks down when controlling for regulatory impediments to competition and inflation. Furthermore, bank regulations become insignificant when controlling for national indicators of economic freedom or property rights protection, while these institutional indicators robustly explain cross-bank net interest margins and overhead expenditures. Thus, bank regulations cannot be viewed in isolation; they reflect broad, national approaches to private property and competition.

Abstract:
This paper examines the impact of bank regulations, market structure, and national institutions on bank net interest margins and overhead costs using data on over 1,400 banks across 72 countries while controlling for bank-specific characteristics. The data indicate that tighter regulations on bank entry and bank activities boost the cost of financial intermediation. Inflation also exerts a robust, positive impact on bank margins and overhead costs. While concentration is positively associated with net interest margins, this relationship breaks down when controlling for regulatory impediments to competition and inflation. Furthermore, bank regulations become insignificant when controlling for national indicators of economic freedom or property rights protection, while these institutional indicators robustly explain cross-bank net interest margins and overhead expenditures. Thus, bank regulations cannot be viewed in isolation; they reflect broad, national approaches to private property and competition.

banks, regulation, policies, institutions, concentration, interest margins

Abstract:
This paper assesses empirically two theories of why legal origin influences financial development. The political channel stresses that legal traditions differ in the priority they give to the rights of individual investors vis-a-vis the state and this has repercussions for financial development. The adaptability channel holds that legal traditions differ in their ability to adjust to changing commercial circumstances and legal systems that adapt quickly will foster financial development more effectively. We use historical comparisons and cross-country regressions to assess the validity of these two channels. We find that legal origin matters for financial development because legal traditions differ in their ability to adapt efficiently to evolving economic conditions.

Law, Financial development

Abstract:
New research suggests that cross-country differences in legal origin help explain differences in financial development. This paper empirically assesses two theories of why legal origin influences financial development. First, the 'political' channel stresses that (i) legal traditions differ in the priority they give to the rights of individual investors vis-a-vis the state and (ii) this has repercussions for the development of property rights and financial markets. Second, the 'adaptability' channel holds that (i) legal traditions differ in their ability to adjust to changing commercial circumstances and (ii) legal systems that adapt quickly to minimize the gap between the contracting needs of the economy and the legal system's capabilities will foster financial development more effectively than would more rigid legal traditions. We use historical comparisons and cross-country regressions to assess the validity of these two channels. We find that legal origin matters for financial development because legal traditions differ in their ability to adapt efficiently to evolving economic conditions.

Abstract:
A growing body of work suggests that cross-country differences in legal origin help explain differences in financial development. Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Levine assess two theories of why legal origin influences financial development. First, the "political" channel stresses that (1) legal traditions differ in the priority they give to the rights of individual investors compared with the state, and that (2) this has repercussions for the development of property rights and financial markets. Second, the "adaptability" channel holds that (1) legal traditions differ in their ability to adjust to changing commercial circumstances, and (2) legal systems that adapt quickly to minimize the gap between the contracting needs of the economy and the legal system's capabilities will foster financial development more effectively than would more rigid legal traditions. The authors use historical comparisons and cross-country regressions to assess the validity of these two channels.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the determinants of financial development.

Abstract:
Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Levine explore the relationship between the relative size of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, economic growth, and poverty using a new database on the share of SME labor in the total manufacturing labor force. Using a sample of 76 countries, they find a strong association between the importance of SMEs and GDP per capita growth. This relationship, however, is not robust to controlling for simultaneity bias. So, while a large SME sector is characteristic of successful economies, the data fail to support the hypothesis that SMEs exert a causal impact on growth. Furthermore, the authors find no evidence that SMEs reduce poverty. Finally, they find qualified evidence that the overall business environment facing both large and small firms - as measured by the ease of firm entry and exit, sound property rights, and contract enforcement - influences economic growth.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the role of SMEs.

Abstract:
What role does the business environment play in promoting and restraining firm growth? Recent literature points to a number of factors as obstacles to growth. Inefficient functioning of financial markets, inadequate security and enforcement of property rights, poor provision of infrastructure, inefficient regulation and taxation, and broader governance features such as corruption and macroeconomic stability are discussed without any comparative evidence on their ordering. In this paper, the authors use firm level survey data to present evidence on the relative importance of different features of the business environment. They find that although firms report many obstacles to growth, not all the obstacles are equally constraining. Some affect firm growth only indirectly through their influence on other obstacles, or not at all. Using Directed Acyclic Graph methodology as well as regressions, the authors find that only obstacles related to finance, crime, and political instability directly affect the growth rate of firms. Robustness tests further show that the finance result is the most robust of the three. These results have important policy implications for the priority of reform efforts. They show that maintaining political stability, keeping crime under control, and undertaking financial sector reforms to relax financing constraints are likely to be the most effective routes to promote firm growth.

Pro-Poor Growth and Inequality Inequality Economic Conditions and Volatility Private Participation in Infrastructure Economic Growth

Abstract:
This paper updates the Demirguc-Kunt and Sobaci (2001) cross-country deposit insurance database and extends it in several important dimensions. This new dataset identifies both recent adopters and the ones that were not covered earlier due to a lack of data. Moreover, for the first time, it provides historical time series for several variables and adds new ones. The data were collected by surveying deposit insurance institutions and related agencies as well as through the use of various other country sources.

Deposit insurance, deposit protection, deposit coverage, banking

Abstract:
China is often mentioned as a counter-example to the findings in the finance and growth literature since, despite the weaknesses in its banking system, it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The fast growth of Chinese private sector firms is taken as evidence that it is alternative financing and governance mechanisms that support China's growth. This paper takes a closer look at firm financing patterns and growth using a database of 2,400 Chinese firms. The authors find that a relatively small percentage of firms in the sample utilize formal bank finance with a much greater reliance on informal sources. However, the results suggest that despite its weaknesses, financing from the formal financial system is associated with faster firm growth, whereas fund raising from alternative channels is not. Using a selection model, the authors find no evidence that these results arise because of the selection of firms that have access to the formal financial system. Although firms report bank corruption, there is no evidence that it significantly affects the allocation of credit or the performance of firms that receive the credit. The findings suggest that the role of reputation and relationship based financing and governance mechanisms in financing the fastest growing firms in China is likely to be overestimated.

Access to Finance, Banks & Banking Reform, Debt Markets, Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress

Abstract:
Contemporary banking crises are not accompanied by declines in aggregate bank deposits, and credit does not fall relative to output, but the growth of both deposits and credit does slow down substantially. Output recovery begins the second year after the crisis and is not led by a resumption of credit growth. Instead, banks (including the stronger banks) reallocate their asset portfolio away from loans.

Much of the substantial literature on banking crises focuses on early warning indicators. Demirguc-Kunt, Detragiache, and Gupta look at what happens to the economy and the banking sector after a banking crisis breaks out.

Much of the theory of banking crises assigns a central role to depositor runs, with vulnerability to runs viewed as a basic characteristic of banks as financial intermediaries. But banking systems can be financially distressed even when depositors do not withdraw their deposits, if other bank creditors rush for the exit or if banks become insolvent.

Are contemporary banking crises characterized by large declines in deposits?

The authors find that contemporary banking crises are not accompanied by declines in aggregate bank deposits, and credit does not fall relative to output, but the growth of both deposits and credit does slow down substantially. Output recovery begins the second year after the crisis and is not led by a resumption of credit growth. Instead, banks (including the stronger banks) reallocate their asset portfolio away from loans.

This suggests that protecting deposits during a banking crisis may not be enough to protect bank credit, as lack of usable collateral and poor borrower creditworthiness discourage banks from lending. However, protecting bank credit may not be a priority right after a crisis, as the real economy can rebound without it, at least while there is substantial underused capacity.

This paper - a joint product of Finance, Development Research Group, and the Research Department, International Monetary Fund - is part of a larger effort to study banking crises. The authors may be contacted at ademirguckunt@worldbank.org, edetragiache@imf.org, or pgupta@imf.org.

Abstract:
A country's level of financial development and the legal environment in which financial intermediaries and markets operate critically influence economic development. In countries whose financial sectors are more fully developed and whose legal systems protect the rights of outside investors, economies grow faster, industries dependent on external finance expand more quickly, new firms are created more easily, firms have more access to external financing, and firms grow faster.

Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, Levine, and Maksimovic explore the relationship between financial structure - the degree to which a financial system is market- or bank-based - and economic development.

They use three methodologies:
· The cross-country approach uses cross-country data to assess whether economies grow faster with market- or bank-based systems.
· The industry approach uses a country-industry panel to assess whether industries that depend heavily on external financing grow faster in market- or bank-based financial systems and whether financial structure influences the rate at which new firms are created.
· The firm-level approach uses firm-level data across a broad selection of countries to test whether firms are more likely to grow beyond the rate predicted by internal resources and short-term borrowings in market- or bank-based financial systems.

The cross-country regressions, the industry panel estimations, and the firm-level analyses provide remarkably consistent conclusions:
· Financial structure is not an analytically useful way to distinguish financial systems.
· Financial structure does not help us understand economic growth, industrial performance, or firm expansion.
· The results are inconsistent with both market-based and bank-based views.

In other words, economies do not grow faster, industries dependent on external financing do not expand faster, new firms are not created more easily, firms' access to external finance is not greater, and firms do not grow faster in either market- or bank-based financial systems.

The authors find overwhelming evidence that the overall level of financial development and the legal environment in which financial intermediaries and markets operate critically influence economic development.

This paper is a product of Finance, Development Research Group. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Financial Structures and Economic Development (RPO 682-41). The authors may be contacted at tbeck@worldbank.org or ademirguckunt@worldbank.org.

Abstract:
Vulnerability to crises in the banking sector appears to be associated with these factors: a weak macroeconomic environment characterized by slow GDP growth and high inflation, vulnerability to sudden capital outflows, low liquidity in the banking sector, a high share of credit to the private sector, past credit growth, the existence of explicit deposit insurance, and weak institutions.

In the 1980s and 1990s several countries experienced banking crises. Demirgüç-Kunt and Detragiache try to identify features of the economic environment that tend to breed problems in the banking sector.

They do so by econometrically estimating the probability of a systemic crisis, applying a multivariate logit model to data from a large panel of countries, both industrial and developing, for the period 1980-94.

Included in the panel as controls are countries that never experienced banking problems.

The authors find that crises tend to occur in a weak macroeconomic environment characterized by slow GDP growth and high inflation. When these effects are controlled for, neither the rate of currency depreciation nor the fiscal deficit are significant.

Also associated with a higher probability of crisis are vulnerability to sudden capital outflows, low liquidity in the banking sector, a high share of credit to the private sector, and past credit growth.

Another factor significantly (and robustly) associated with increased vulnerability in the banking sector is the presence of explicit deposit insurance, suggesting that moral hazard has played a major role.

Finally, countries with weak institutions (as measured by a law and order index) are more likely to experience crises.

This paper-a product of the Development Research Group, World Bank, and the Research Department, International Monetary Fund-is part of a larger effort to understand the causes of banking crises.

Abstract:
Microfinance institutions have proved the possibility of providing reliable banking services to poor customers. Their second aim is to do so in a commercially-viable way. This paper analyzes the tensions and opportunities of microfinance as it embraces the market, drawing on a data set that includes 346 of the world's leading microfinance institutions and covers nearly 18 million active borrowers. The data show remarkable successes in maintaining high rates of loan repayment, but the data also suggest that profit-maximizing investors would have limited interest in most of the institutions that are focusing on the poorest customers and women. Those institutions, as a group, charge their customers the highest fees in the sample but also face particularly high transaction costs, in part due to small transaction sizes. Innovations to overcome the well-known problems of asymmetric information in financial markets were a triumph, but further innovation is needed to overcome the challenges of high costs.

Access to Finance, Debt Markets, Banks & Banking Reform, Emerging Markets

Abstract:
The intensity of recent turbulence in financial markets has surprised nearly everyone. This paper searches out the root causes of the crisis, distinguishing them from scapegoating explanations that have been used in policy circles to divert attention from the underlying breakdown of incentives. Incentive conflicts explain how securitization went wrong, why credit ratings proved so inaccurate, and why it is superficial to blame the crisis on mark-to-market accounting, an unexpected loss of liquidity, or trends in globalization and deregulation in financial markets. The analysis finds disturbing implications of the crisis for Basel II and its implementation. The paper argues that the principal source of financial instability lies in contradictory political and bureaucratic incentives that undermine the effectiveness of financial regulation and supervision in every country in the world. The paper concludes by identifying reforms that would improve incentives by increasing transparency and accountability in government and industry alike.

Debt Markets, Banks & Banking Reform, Emerging Markets, Access to Finance

Abstract:
The first part of this paper reviews the literature on the relation between finance and growth. The second part of the paper reviews the literature on the historical and policy determinants of financial development. Governments play a central role in shaping the operation of financial systems and the degree to which large segments of the financial system have access to financial services. The paper discusses the relationship between financial sector policies and economic development.

Debt Markets, Access to Finance, Emerging Markets, Economic Theory & Research

Abstract:
This paper contributes to the literature on how a country's legal origin influences the operation of its financial system by using firm-level survey data on the obstacles that firms face in raising external finance. The paper assesses two channels through which legal origin may influence the financial system. It finds that the adaptability of a country's legal system is more important for explaining the obstacles that firms face in accessing external finance than the political independence of the judiciary.

Abstract:
This paper contributes to the literature on how a country's legal origin influences the operation of its financial system by using firm-level survey data on the obstacles that firms face in raising external finance. The paper assesses two channels through which legal origin may influence the financial system. It finds that the adaptability of a country's legal system is more important for explaining the obstacles that firms face in accessing external finance than the political independence of the judiciary.

Legal system, judicial independence, corporate finance

Abstract:
We examine how well several institutional and firm-level factors explain firms' perceptions of property rights protection. Our sample includes private and public firms which vary in size from very small to large in 80 countries. Together, the institutional theories we investigate account for approximately 50 percent of the country-level variation, indicating that the literature is addressing first-order factors. Firm-level characteristics, such as legal organization and ownership structure, are comparable to institutional factors in explaining variation in property rights protection. A country's legal origin predicts property rights variation better than its religion, its ethnic diversity, or natural endowments. However, these results are driven by the inclusion of former Socialist economies in the sample. When we exclude the former Socialist economies, legal origin explains considerably less than ethnic fractionalization.

Law, Property Rights, Variance Decomposition

Abstract:
A rapidly growing empirical literature is studying the causes and consequences of bank fragility in present-day economies. The paper reviews the two basic methodologies adopted in cross-country empirical studiesthe signals approach and the multivariate probability modeland their application to studying the determinants of banking crises. The use of these models to provide early warnings for crises is also reviewed, as are studies of the economic effects of banking crises and of the policies to forestall them. The paper concludes by identifying directions for future research.

Banking crises, financial fragility

Abstract:
A rapidly growing empirical literature is studying the causes and consequences of bank fragility in contemporary economies. The paper reviews the two basic methodologies adopted in cross-country empirical studies, the signals approach and the multivariate probability model, and their application to study the determinants of banking crises. The use of these models to provide early warnings for crises is also reviewed, as are studies of the economic effects of banking crises and of the policies to forestall them. The paper concludes by identifying directions for future research.

Banking crises, financial fragility

Abstract:
How the relative development of a country's stock market and banking system affects firms' growth is closely tied to how well developed the country`s contracting environment is. How differences in the contracting environment affect the relative development of the stock market or banking system may have implications for which firms and which projects get financing.

Demirguc-Kunt and Maksimovic investigate whether firms' access to external financing to fund growth differs between market-based and bank-based financial systems.

Using firm-level data for 40 countries, they compute the proportion of firms in each country that relies on external finance and examine how that proportion differs across financial systems. They find that the development of a country's legal system predicts access to external finance and that stock markets and the banking system have different effects on access to external markets. The development of securities markets is related more to the availability of long-term financing, whereas the development of the banking sector is related more to the availability of short-term financing.

They find no evidence, however, that firms' access to external financing is predicted by an index of the development of stock markets relative to the development of the banking system.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to study financial structure and development. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Financial Structure and Economic Development (RPO 682-41). The author may be contacted at ademirguckunt@worldbank.org.

Abstract:
Do firms in developing countries use less long term debt than similar firms in industrial countries? This paper investigates the role of institutional factors in explaining firms' choice of debt maturity in a sample of 30 countries during 1980-91.

Demirguc-Kunt and Maksimovic examine the maturity of firm debt in 30 countries during the period 1980-91. They find systematic differences in the use of long-term debt between industrial and developing countries and between small and large firms.

In industrial countries, firms have more long-term debt and a greater proportion of their total debt is held as long-term debt. Large firms have more long-term debt, as a proportion of total assets and debt, than smaller firms do.

The authors try to explain the variations in debt composition by differences in the effectiveness of legal systems, the development of stock markets and the banking sector, the level of government subsidies, and firm characteristics.

In countries with an effective legal system, both large and small firms have more long-term debt relative to assets and their debt is of longer maturity. Both large and small firms in countries with a tradition of common law use less long-term debt, relative to their assets, than do firms in countries with a tradition of civil law. Large firms in common law countries also use less short-term debt.

In countries with active stock markets, large firms have more long-term debt and debt of longer maturity. Neither the level of activity nor the size of the market is correlated with financing choices of small firms.

By contrast, in countries with large banking sectors, small firms have less short-term debt and their debt is of longer maturity. Variation in the size of the banking sector does not have a corresponding correlation with the capital structures of large firms. Government subsidies to industry increase long-term debt levels of both small and large firms.

For all firms, inflation is associated with less use of long-term debt. The authors also find evidence of maturity-matching for both large and small firms.

This paper - a product of the Finance and Private Sector Development Division, Policy Research Department - is part of a larger effort in the department to understand the impact of institutional constraints on firms' financing choices. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Term Finance: Theory and Evidence (RPO 679-62).

Abstract:
While substantial research finds that financial development boosts overall economic growth, we study whether financial development disproportionately raises the incomes of the poor and alleviates poverty. Using a broad cross-country sample, we distinguish among competing theoretical predictions about the impact of financial development on changes in income distribution and poverty alleviation. We find that financial development reduces income inequality by disproportionately boosting the incomes of the poor. Countries with better-developed financial intermediaries experience faster declines in measures of both poverty and income inequality. These results are robust to controlling for other country characteristics and potential reverse causality.

Abstract:
While substantial research finds that financial development boosts overall economic growth, Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Levine study whether financial development is pro-poor: Does financial development disproportionately raise the income of the poor? Using a broad cross-country sample, the authors find that the answer is yes: Financial intermediary development reduces income inequality by disproportionately boosting the income of the poor and therefore reduces poverty. This result is robust to controlling for simultaneity bias and reverse causation.

This paper - a product of Finance Team, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the link between finance and poverty alleviation.

Abstract:
Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Levine examine the impact of bank supervision on the financing obstacles faced by almost 5,000 corporations across 49 countries. They find that firms in countries with strong official supervisory agencies that directly monitor banks tend to face greater financing obstacles. Moreover, powerful official supervision tends to increase firm reliance on special connections and corruption in raising external finance, which is consistent with political and regulatory capture theories. Creating a supervisory agency that is independent of the government and banks mitigates the adverse consequences of powerful supervision. Finally, the authors find that bank supervisory agencies that force accurate information disclosure by banks and enhance private monitoring tend to ease the financing obstacles faced by firms.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the impact of bank supervision and regulation.

Bank supervision, Corporate governance, Financing obstacles

Abstract:
We examine the impact of bank supervision on the financing obstacles faced by almost 5,000 corporations across 49 countries. We find that firms in countries with strong official supervisory agencies that directly monitor banks tend to face greater financing obstacles. Moreover, powerful official supervision tends to increase firm reliance on special connections and corruption in raising external finance, which is consistent with political/regulatory capture theories. Creating a supervisory agency that is independent of the government and banks mitigates the adverse consequences of powerful supervision. Finally, we find that bank supervisory agencies that force accurate information disclosure by banks and enhance private monitoring tend to ease the financing obstacles faced by firms.

Abstract:
Microfinance promises to reduce poverty by employing profit-making banking practices in low-income communities. Many microfinance institutions have secured high loan repayment rates but, so far, relatively few earn profits. We examine why this promise remains unmet. We explore patterns of profitability, loan repayment, and cost reduction with unusually high-quality data on 124 institutions in 49 countries. The evidence shows the possibility of earning profits while serving the poor, but a trade-off emerges between profitability and serving the poorest. Raising fees to very high levels does not ensure greater profitability and the benefits of cost-cutting diminish when serving better-off customers.

Abstract:
Microfinance contracts have proven able to secure high rates of loan repayment in the face of limited liability and information asymmetries, but high repayment rates have not translated easily into profits for most microbanks. Profitability, though, is at the heart of the promise that microfinance can deliver poverty reduction while not relying on ongoing subsidy. The authors examine why this promise remains unmet for most institutions. Using a data set with unusually high quality financial information on 124 institutions in 49 countries, they explorethe patterns of profitability, loan repayment, and cost reduction. The authors find that institutional design and orientation matter substantially. Lenders that do not use group-based methods to overcome incentive problems experience weaker portfolio quality and lower profit rates when interest rates are raised substantially. For these individual-based lenders, one key to achieving profitability is investing more heavily in staff costs - a finding consistent with the economics of information but contrary to the conventional wisdom that profitability is largely a function of minimizing cost.

Banks&Banking Reform, Economic Theory & Research, Economic Adjustment and Lending, Investment and Investment Climate, Rural Finance

Abstract:
The paper studies the factors associated with the emergence of systemic banking crises in a large sample of developed and developing countries in 1980-94, using a multivariate logit econometric model. The results suggest that crises tend to erupt when the macroeconomic environment is weak, particularly when growth is low and inflation is high. Also, high real interest rates are clearly associated with systemic banking sector problems, and there is some evidence that vulnerability to balance of payments crises has played a role. Countries with an explicit deposit insurance scheme were particularly at risk, as were countries with weak law enforcement.

Banking Crises, Financial Fragility, Deposit Insurance

Abstract:
This paper examines the implications of bank activity and short-term funding strategies for bank risk and return using an international sample of 1334 banks in 101 countries leading up to the 2007 financial crisis. Expansion into non-interest income generating activities such as trading increases the rate of return on assets, and it may offer some risk diversification benefits at very low levels. Non-deposit, wholesale funding in contrast lowers the rate of return on assets, while it can offer some risk reduction at commonly observed low levels of non-deposit funding. A sizeable proportion of banks, however, attract most of their short-term funding in the form of non-deposits at a cost of enhanced bank fragility. Overall, banking strategies that rely prominently on generating non-interest income or attracting non-deposit funding are very risky, consistent with the demise of the U.S. investment banking sector.

non-interest income share, wholesale funding, diversification, universal banking, bank fragility, financial crisis

Abstract:
This paper examines the implications of bank activity and short-term funding strategies for bank risk and return using an international sample of 1334 banks in 101 countries leading up to the 2007 financial crisis. Expansion into non-interest income generating activities such as trading increases the rate of return on assets, and it may offer some risk diversification benefits at very low levels. Non-deposit, wholesale funding in contrast lowers the rate of return on assets, while it can offer some risk reduction at commonly observed low levels of non-deposit funding. A sizeable proportion of banks, however, attract most of their short-term funding in the form of non-deposits at a cost of enhanced bank fragility. Overall, banking strategies that rely prominently on generating non-interest income or attracting non-deposit funding are very risky, consistent with the demise of the U.S. investment banking sector.

bank fragility, financial crisis, non-interest income share, universal banking, wholesale funding

Abstract:
This paper examines the implications of bank activity and short-term funding strategies for bank risk and return using an international sample of 1334 banks in 101 countries leading up to the 2007 financial crisis. Expansion into non-interest income generating activities such as trading increases the rate of return on assets, and it may offer some risk diversification benefits at very low levels. Non-deposit, wholesale funding in contrast lowers the rate of return on assets, while it can offer some risk reduction at commonly observed low levels of non-deposit funding. A sizeable proportion of banks, however, attract most of their short-term funding in the form of non-deposits at a cost of enhanced bank fragility. Overall, banking strategies that rely prominently on generating non-interest income or attracting non-deposit funding are very risky, consistent with the demise of the U.S. investment banking sector.

non-interest income share, wholesale funding, diversification, universal banking, bank fragility, financial crisis

Abstract:
Information from 209 banks in 62 countries is used to develop new indicators of barriers to banking services around the world, show their correlation with measures of outreach, and explore their association with bank and country characteristics suggested by theory as potential determinants. Barriers such as minimum account and loan balances, account fees, and required documents are associated with lower levels of banking outreach. While country characteristics linked with financial depth, such as the effectiveness of creditor rights, contract enforcement mechanisms, and credit information systems, are weakly correlated with barriers, strong associations are found between barriers and measures of restrictions on bank activities and entry, bank disclosure practices and media freedom, and development of physical infrastructure. In particular, barriers are higher in countries where there are more stringent restrictions on bank activities and entry, less disclosure and media freedom, and poorly developed physical infrastructure. Also, barriers for bank customers are higher where banking systems are predominantly government-owned and are lower where there is more foreign bank participation. Larger banks seem to impose lower barriers on customers, perhaps because they are better positioned to exploit economies of scale and scope.

G2, G21, O16

Abstract:
Using information from 193 banks in 58 countries, the authors develop and analyze indicators of physical access, affordability, and eligibility barriers to deposit, loan, and payment services. They find substantial cross-country variation in barriers to banking and show that in many countries these barriers can potentially exclude a significant share of the population from using banking services. Correlations with bank- and country-level variables show that bank size and the availability of physical infrastructure are the most robust predictors of barriers. Further, the authors find evidence that in more competitive, open, and transparent economies, and in countries with better contractual and informational frameworks, banks impose lower barriers. Finally, though foreign banks seem to charge higher fees than other banks, in foreign dominated banking systems fees are lower and it is easier to open bank accounts and to apply for loans. On the other hand, in systems that are predominantly government-owned, customers pay lower fees but also face greater restrictions in terms of where to apply for loans and how long it takes to have applications processed. These findings have important implications for policy reforms to broaden access.

Banks & Banking Reform, Financial Intermediation, Economic Theory & Research, Financial Crisis Management & Restructuring, Competitiveness and Competition Policy

Abstract:
This paper identifies factors that influence decisions about a country`s financial safety net, using a comprehensive dataset covering 180 countries during the 1960-2003 period. Our analysis focuses on how private interest-group pressures, outside influences, and political-institutional factors affect deposit-insurance adoption and design. Controlling for macroeconomic shocks, quality of bank regulations, and institutional development, we find that both private and public interests, as well as outside influences to emulate developed-country regulatory schemes, can explain the timing of adoption decisions and the rigor of loss-control arrangements. Controlling for other factors, political systems that facilitate intersectoral power sharing dispose a country toward design features that accommodate risk-shifting by banks.

Abstract:
The authors seek to identify factors that influence decisions about a country's financial safety net, using a new dataset on 170 countries covering the 1960-2003 period. Specifically, they focus on how outside influences, economic development, crisis pressures, and political institutions affect deposit insurance adoption and design. Controlling for the influence of economic characteristics and events such as macroeconomic shocks, occurrence and severity of crises, and institutional development, they find that pressure to emulate developed-country regulatory frameworks and power-sharing political institutions dispose a country toward adopting design features that inadequately control risk-shifting.

Banks & Banking Reform, Economic Theory & Research, Financial Intermediation, Insurance & Risk Mitigation, Financial Crisis Management & Restructuring

Abstract:
This paper investigates the factors that determine a country's decision to adopt explicit deposit insurance using data on 170 countries over the 1960-2003 period. Specifically, we focus on the role played by outside influences and internal political factors both in adopting deposit insurance and crafting its design. Our results indicate that the desire to emulate developed-country regulatory brameworks, and having a more-democratic political system make adoption and generous design more likely, even after we control for a large number of country characteristics and events, such as macroeconomic shocks, occurrence and severity of crises, and institutional development.

Deposit Insurance, Bank Regulation, Political Economy, Institutions

Abstract:
Using cross-country data, the authors evaluate historical determinants of protection of property rights. They examine four historical theories that focus on conceptually distinct causal variables believed to shape institutions: legal origin, endowments, ethnic diversity, and religion. There is only one realization of the data with relatively few observations, which have by now been well explored in the literature. Given the correlations between the explanatory variables, it is difficult to fashion empirical tests which are consistent in their treatment of the competing theories and to know which regressions to take seriously, giving rise to competing interpretations in the literature. The authors use Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) methodology to identify which historical factors are direct determinants of property rights protection and which are not, and subject the outcomes to a battery of robustness tests. The empirical results support ethnic fractionalization as a robust determinant of property rights protection. Despite the attention it has received in the literature, the impact of legal origin on protection of property rights appears fragile and dependent on the inclusion of transition economies in the sample.

Legal Institutions of the Market Economy, Judicial System Reform, Anthropology, Gender and Law, Legal Products

Abstract:
Using cross-country data, this paper evaluates historical determinants of protection of property rights. We examine four historical theories that focus on conceptually distinct causal variables in shaping institutions, as captured by legal origin, endowments, ethnic diversity and religion. There is only one realization of the data with relatively few observations, which have by now been well explored in the literature. Given the correlations between the explanatory variables, it is difficult to fashion empirical tests which are consistent in their treatment of the competing theories and to know which regressions to take seriously, giving rise to competing interpretations in the literature. We use Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) methodology to identify which historical factors are direct determinants of property rights protection and which are not, and subject the outcomes to a battery of robustness tests. The empirical results support ethnic fractionalization as a robust determinant of property rights protection. Despite the attention it has received in the literature, the impact of legal origin on protection of property rights appears fragile and dependent on the inclusion of transition economies in the sample.

Property Rights, Legal Origin, Endowments, Directed Acyclic Graphs

Abstract:
The recent global financial crisis has shaken the confidence of developed and developing countries alike in the very blueprint of financial and macro policies that underlie the western capitalist systems. In an effort to contain the crisis from spreading, the authorities in the US and many European governments have taken unprecedented steps of providing extensive liquidity, giving assurances to bank depositors and creditors that include blanket guarantees, and structuring bail-out programs that include taking large ownership stakes in financial institutions, in addition to establishing programs for direct provision of credit to non-financial institutions. Emphasizing the importance of incentives and tensions between short term and longer term policy responses to crisis management, this paper draws on a large body of research evidence and country experiences to discuss the implications of the current crisis for financial and macroeconomic policies going forward.

Debt Markets, Banks & Banking Reform, Emerging Markets, Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress, Currencies and Exchange Rates

Abstract:
Using data from a survey of 91 banks in 45 countries, the authors characterize bank financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) around the world. They find that banks perceive the SME segment to be highly profitable, but perceive macroeconomic instability in developing countries and competition in developed countries as the main obstacles. To serve SMEs banks have set up dedicated departments and decentralized the sale of products to the branches. However, loan approval, risk management, and loan recovery functions remain centralized. Compared with large firms, banks are less exposed to small enterprises, charge them higher interest rates and fees, and experience more non-performing loans from lending to them. Although there are some differences in SMEs financing across government, private, and foreign-owned banks - with the latter being more likely to engage in arms-length lending - the most significant differences are found between banks in developed and developing countries. Banks in developing countries tend to be less exposed to SMEs, provide a lower share of investment loans, and charge higher fees and interest rates. Overall, the evidence suggests that the lending environment is more important than firm size or bank ownership type in shaping bank financing to SMEs.

Banks & Banking Reform, Access to Finance, Small and Medium Size Enterprises

Abstract:
Explicit deposit insurance tends to be detrimental to bank stability - the more so where bank interest rates are deregulated and the institutional environment is weak.

Based on evidence for 61 countries in 1980-97, Demirguc-Kunt and Detragiache find that explicit deposit insurance tends to be detrimental to bank stability, the more so where bank interest rates are deregulated and the institutional environment is weak.

The adverse impact of deposit insurance on bank stability tends to be stronger the more extensive is the coverage offered to depositors, and where the scheme is funded and run by the government rather than the private sector.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to study deposit insurance. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Deposit Insurance: Issues of Principle, Design, and Implementation (RPO 682-90). The authors may be contacted at ademirguckunt@worldbank.org or edetragiache@imf.org.

Abstract:
The empirical literature on finance and development suggests that countries with better developed financial systems experience faster economic growth. Financial development - as captured by size, depth, efficiency, and reach of financial systems - varies sharply around the world, with large differences among countries at similar levels of income. This paper argues that governments play an important role in building effective financial systems and discusses different policy options to make finance work for development.

Banks & Banking Reform, Economic Theory & Research, Macroeconomic Management, Pro-Poor Growth and Inequality, Inequality

Abstract:
This paper examines whether financial development boosts the growth of small firms more than large firms and hence provides information on the mechanisms through which financial development fosters aggregate economic growth. We define an industry's technological firm size as the firm size implied by industry specific production technologies, including capital intensities and scale economies. Using cross-industry, cross-country data, the results indicate that financial development exerts a disproportionately large effect on the growth of industries that are technologically more dependent on small firms. This suggests that financial development accelerates economic growth by removing growth constraints on small firms and also implies that financial development has sectoral as well as aggregate growth ramifications.

Firm size, financial development, economic growth

Abstract:
The authors investigate the determinants of firm innovation in over 19,000 firms across 47 developing economies. They define the innovation process broadly, to include not only core innovation such as the introduction of new products and new technologies, but also other types of activities that promote knowledge transfers and adapt production processes. The authors find that more innovative firms are large exporting firms characterized by private ownership, highly educated managers with mid-level managerial experience, and access to external finance. In contrast, firms that do not innovate much are typically state-owned firms without foreign competitors. The identity of the controlling shareholder seems to be particularly important for core innovation, with those private firms whose controlling shareholder is a financial institution being the least innovative. While the use of external finance is associated with greater innovation by all private firms, it does not make state-owned firms more innovative. Financing from foreign banks is associated with higher levels of innovation compared with financing from domestic banks.

Education for Development (superceded), Microfinance, Small Scale Enterprise, Investment and Investment Climate, Innovation

Abstract:
Using a firm-level survey database covering 48 countries, Beck, Demirgüç-Kunt, and Maksimovic investigate whether differences in financial and legal development affect the way firms finance their investments. The results indicate that external financing of investments is not a function of institutions, although the form of external finance is. The authors identify two explanations for this. First, legal and financial institutions affect different types of external finance in offsetting ways. Second, firm size is an important determinant of whether firms can have access to different types of external finance. Larger firms with financing needs are more likely to use external finance compared with small firms. The results also indicate that these firms are more likely to use external finance in more developed financial systems, particularly debt and equity finance. The authors also find evidence consistent with the pecking order theory in financially developed countries, particularly for large firms.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand firms' access to financial services.

Abstract:
It appears that firms grow faster and are more productive when more long-term finance is available to them. Government subsidies do not produce the same effects and are in some cases associated with reduced productivity and growth.

Caprio and Demirguc-Kunt review the literature on term finance to place the research in context and discuss its implications for World Bank operations. Their project investigated whether industrial firms in developing countries suffer from a shortage of long-term credit and whether that shortage affects the firm's investment, productivity, and growth.

Both issues are important in designing the World Bank's industrial lending policy because the development community is reevaluating mechanisms to make more term finance available or to lessen the constraints imposed by its absence.

Using both cross-country empirical analysis and country case studies, researchers found that developing country firms use significantly less long-term debt than their industrial country counterparts, even after controlling for firm characteristics. They explain the difference in debt composition of industrial and developing countries in terms of firm characteristics, macro factors, and - most important - government subsidies, the country's level of financial development, and legal and institutional factors.

They conclude that more long-term finance tends to be associated with higher productivity.

Cross-country analysis of firm-level data also indicates that when there is an active stock market and when creditors and debtors are better able to enter into long-term contracts, firms seem to be able to grow faster than they could by relying only on internal resources and short-term credit.

Another important finding: Government subsidies around the world have increased firms' long-term indebtedness, but there is no evidence connecting these subsidies with the firms' ability to grow faster. Indeed, in some cases subsidies were associated with lower productivity.

This paper - a product of the Finance and Private Sector Development Division, Policy Research Department - summarizes the results of a recently completed Bank project on term finance. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Term Finance: Theory and Evidence (RPO 679-62).

Abstract:
An influential body of theoretical research and an emerging line of empirical work suggest that the operation of the formal financial system affects the degree to which economic opportunities are defined by talent and initiative rather than by parental wealth and social connections. This paper discusses the theory of how financial markets influence economic opportunity and reviews recent empirical work on the relation between formal financial systems and poverty, income inequality, and economic opportunity. The authors consider recent efforts to measure the ability of households and small enterprises to access financial services, the impact of this access, and the mechanisms through which finance affects poverty and inequality. The authors argue that considerably more research is needed to identify which formal financial sector policies enhance the operation of the financial system in ways that expand the economic horizons of the economically disenfranchised.

Access to Finance, Banks & Banking Reform, Emerging Markets, Debt Markets

Abstract:
Workers' remittances to developing countries have become the second largest type of flows after foreign direct investment. The authors use data on workers' remittance flows to 99 developing countries from 1975-2003 to study the impact of remittances on financial sector development. In particular, they examine whether remittances contribute to increasing the aggregate level of deposits and credit intermediated by the local banking sector. This is an important question considering the extensive literature that has documented the growth-enhancing and poverty-reducing effects of financial development. The findings provide strong support for the notion that remittances promote financial development in developing countries.

Remittances, Economic Theory & Research, Pro-Poor Growth and Inequality, Banks & Banking Reform, Financial Economics

Abstract:
This paper studies whether compliance with the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision (BCP) improves bank soundness. BCP compliance assessments provide a unique source of information about the quality of bank supervision and regulation around the world. The authors find a significant and positive relationship between bank soundness (measured with Moody's financial strength ratings) and compliance with principles related to information provision. Specifically, countries that require banks to report regularly and accurately their financial data to regulators and market participants have sounder banks. This relationship is robust to controlling for broad indexes of institutional quality, macroeconomic variables, sovereign ratings, as well as reverse causality. Measuring soundness through z-scores yields similar results. The findings emphasize the importance of transparency in making supervisory processes effective and strengthening market discipline. Countries aiming to upgrade banking regulation and supervision should consider giving priority to information provision over other elements of the Core Principles.

Banks & Banking Reform, Financial Intermediation, Corporate Law, Financial Crisis Management & Restructuring, Insurance & Risk Mitigation

Abstract:
This paper examines the impact of bank regulations, concentration, inflation, and national institutions on bank net interest margins using data from over 1,400 banks across 72 countries while controlling for bank-specific characteristics. The data indicate that tighter regulations on bank entry and bank activities boost net interest margins. Inflation also exerts a robust, positive impact on bank margins. While concentration is positively associated with net interest margins, this relationship breaks down when controlling for regulatory impediments to competition and inflation. Furthermore, bank regulations become insignificant when controlling for national indicators of economic freedom or property rights protection, while these institutional indicators robustly explain cross-bank net interest margins. So, bank regulations cannot be viewed in isolation. They reflect broad, national approaches to private property and competition.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the impact of bank concentration and competition.

Abstract:
Trade credit can be an important complement to lending by financial intermediaries.

Demirguc-Kunt and Maksimovic argue that nonfinancial firms act as intermediaries by channeling short-term funds from the financial institutions in an economy to their best use. Nonfinancial firms act in this way because they may have a comparative advantage in exploiting informal means of ensuring that borrowers repay.

These considerations suggest that to optimally exploit their advantage in providing trade credit to some classes of borrowers, firms should obtain external financing from financial intermediaries and markets when this is efficient. Thus the existence of a large banking system is consistent with these considerations.

Using firm-level data for 39 countries, the authors compute turnovers in payables and receivables and examine how they differ across financial systems. They find that the development level of a country's legal infrastructure and banking system predicts the use of trade credit. Firms' use of bank debt is higher relative to their use of trade credit in countries with efficient legal systems. But firms in countries with large, privately owned banking systems offer more financing to their customers and take more financing from them.

The authors' findings suggest that trade credit is a complement to lending by financial intermediaries and should not be viewed by policymakers as a substitute.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand firm financing constraints. The authors may be contacted at ademirguckunt@worldbank.org or vmaksimovic@rhsmith.umd.edu.

Abstract:
Developing countries should first address weaknesses in their informational and supervisory environments before adopting explicit deposit insurance.

Explicit deposit insurance has been spreading rapidly in recent years, even to countries not advanced in financial and institutional development. Economic theory indicates that deposit insurance design features interact - for good or ill - with country-specific elements of the financial and governmental contracting environment. Demirguc-Kunt and Kane document the extent of cross-country differences in deposit insurance design and review empirical evidence on how design features affect private market discipline, banking stability, financial development, and the effectiveness of crisis resolution. This evidence challenges the wisdom of encouraging countries to adopt explicit deposit insurance without first addressing weaknesses in their informational and supervisory environments.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to improve the design of deposit insurance systems. The authors may be contacted at ademirguckunt@worldbank.org or edward.kane@bc.edu.

Abstract:
Using firm-level data from 52 countries, Demirguc-Kunt, Love, and Maksimovic investigate how a country's institutions and business environment affect firms' organizational choices and the effects of organizational form on access to finance and growth. They find that businesses are more likely to choose the corporate form in countries with developed financial sectors and efficient legal systems, strong shareholder and creditor rights, low regulatory burdens and corporate taxes, and efficient bankruptcy processes. Corporations report fewer financing, legal, and regulatory obstacles than unincorporated firms, and this advantage is greater in countries with more developed institutions and favorable business environments. The authors find some evidence of higher growth of incorporated businesses in countries with good financial and legal institutions.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand firm entry.

Abstract:
A multivariate logit empirical model of banking crisis probabilities can be useful for monitoring fragility in the banking sector.

Demirgüç-Kunt and Detragiache explore how a multivariate logit empirical model of banking crisis probabilities can be used to monitor fragility in the banking sector.

The proposed approach relies on readily available data, and the fragility assessment has a clear interpretation based on in - sample statistics. Also, the monitoring system can be tailored to fit the preferences of the decisionmakers, and the model has better in-sample performance than currently available alternatives.

Despite these advantages, the monitoring system would have missed the 1997 banking crises in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea, while it would have detected some weakness in Thailand and the Philippines. It would have clearly foreseen the 1996 crisis in Jamaica.

Aggregate variables can convey information about general economic conditions often associated with fragility in the banking sector but are silent about the situation at individual banks or in specific segments of the banking sector - so crises that may develop from specific weaknesses in some market segments and spread through contagion would not be detected. The econometric study of systemic banking crises is a relatively new field of study. The development and evaluation of monitoring and forecasting tools based on the results of studies such as this are at an embryonic stage at best.

Demirgüç-Kunt and Detragiache highlight elements that need to be evaluated in developing ready-to-use procedures for decisionmakers and explore possible avenues for doing so.

The monitoring system must be designed to fit the needs of policymakers, so systems must be developed as part of an interactive process involving both econometricians and decisionmakers.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand banking crises. The authors may be contacted at ademirguckunt@worldbank.org or edetragiache@imf.org.

Abstract:
The findings suggest that across very different financial systems, financial markets and intermediaries have a comparative advantage in funding short-term investment. An active, though not necessarily large, stock market and high scores on an index of respect for legal norms are associated with faster than predicted rates of firm growth. Government subsidies to industry do not increase the proportion of firms growing faster than predicted.

Demirguc-Kunt and Maksimovic focus on two issues. First, they examine whether firms in different countries finance long-term and short-term investment similarly. Second, they investigate whether differences in financial systems and legal institutions across countries are reflected in the ability of firms to grow faster than they might have by relying on their internal resources or short-term borrowing.

Across their sample, they find:

- Positive correlations between investment in plant and equipment and retained earnings.
- Negative correlations between investment in plant and equipment and external financing.
- Negative correlations between investment in short-term assets and retained earnings.
- Positive correlations between investment in short-term assets and external financing.

These findings suggest that across very different financial systems, financial markets and intermediaries have a comparative advantage in funding short-term investment.

For each firm in their sample, they estimate a predicted rate at which it can grow if it does not rely on long-term external financing. They show that the proportion of firms that grow faster than the predicted rate in each country is associated with specific features of the legal system, financial markets, and institutions.

An active, though not necessarily large, stock market and high scores on an index of respect for legal norms are associated with faster than predicted rates of firm growth.

They present evidence that the law-and-order index measures the ability of creditors and debtors to enter into long-term contracts. Government subsidies to industry do not increase the proportion of firms growing faster than predicted.

This paper - a product of the Finance and Private Sector Development Division, Policy Research Department - is part of a larger effort in the department to understand the impact of financial constraints on firm growth.

Abstract:
Theory makes ambiguous predictions about the effects of bank concentration on access to external finance. Using a unique data base for 74 countries of financing obstacles and financing patterns for firms of small, medium, and large size, Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Maksimovic assess the effects of banking market structure on financing obstacles and the access of firms to bank finance. The authors find that bank concentration increases financing obstacles and decreases the likelihood of receiving bank finance, with the impact decreasing in size. The relation of bank concentration and financing obstacles is dampened in countries with well developed institutions, higher levels of economic and financial development, and a larger share of foreign-owned banks. The effect is exacerbated by more restrictions on banks' activities, more government interference in the banking sector, and a larger share of government-owned banks. Finally, it is possible to alleviate the negative impact of bank concentration on access to finance by reducing activity restrictions.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the effects of bank competition.

Abstract:
Using a unique firm-level survey data base covering 54 countries, Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Maksimovic investigate whether different financial, legal, and corruption issues that firms report as constraints actually affect their growth rates. The results show that the extent to which these factors constrain a firm's growth depends very much on its size and that it is consistently the smallest firms that are most adversely affected by all three constraints. Firm growth is more affected by reported constraints in countries with underdeveloped financial and legal systems and higher corruption. So, policy measures to improve financial and legal development and reduce corruption are well justified in promoting firm growth, particularly the development of the small and medium enterprise sector. But the evidence also shows that the intuitive descriptors of an "efficient" legal system are not correlated with the components of the general legal constraints that predict firm growth. This finding suggests that the mechanism by which the legal systems affects firm performance is not well understood. The authors' findings also provide evidence that the corruption of bank officials constrains firm growth. This "institutional failure" should be taken into account when modeling the monitoring role of financial institutions in overcoming market failures due to informational asymmetries.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the link from the financial sector to economic development. The authors may be contacted at tbeck@worldbank.org, ademirguckunt@worldbank.org, or vmaksimovic@rhsmith.umd.edu.

Abstract:
It is difficult to design and implement an effective safety net for banks, because overgenerous protection of banks may introduce a risk-enhancing moral hazard and destabilize the very system it is meant to protect. The safety net that policymakers design must provide the right mix of market and regulatory discipline - enough to protect depositors without unduly undermining market discipline on banks.

There has been little empirical work on the effectiveness of safety nets designed for banks, for lack of data on safety net design across countries. Demirgüç-Kunt and Huizinga examine cross-country data on bank-level interest expense and deposit growth for evidence of market discipline in individual countries. In addition, using cross-country information on deposit insurance systems, they investigate the impact of explicit deposit insurance (and its key features) on bank interest rates and market discipline.

They find that:
· Many countries retain some degree of market discipline, regardless of the type of safety net.
· The existence of explicit deposit insurance lowers banks' interest expenses and makes interest payments less sensitive to bank risk factors, especially bank liquidity.
· Higher explicit coverage, broader coverage, and the existence of an earmarked insurance fund increase required-deposit rates and reduce market discipline.
· Government provision of funds lowers deposit rates but also reduces market discipline.
· Private (especially joint) management of insurance schemes lowers deposit rates and improves market discipline.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to study deposit insurance. The authors may be contacted at ademirguckunt@worldbank.org or h.p.huizinga@kub.nl.

Abstract:
An important question is whether the financial safety net reduces market discipline on bank risk taking. For countries with varying deposit insurance schemes, we find that deposit rates continue to reflect bank riskiness. Cross-country evidence suggests that explicit deposit insurance reduces required deposit interest rates at a cost of reduced market discipline. Internationally, deposit insurance schemes vary widely in their coverage, funding, and management. Hence, there are widely differing views on how deposit insurance should optimally be structured. To inform this debate, we use a newly constructed data set of deposit insurance design features to examine how different design features affect deposit interest rates and market discipline.

Abstract:
The authors (1) present new indicators of banking sector penetration across 99 countries based on a survey of bank regulatory authorities, (2) show that these indicators predict household and firm use of banking services, (3) explore the association between the outreach indicators and measures of financial, institutional, and infrastructure development across countries, and (4) relate these banking outreach indicators to measures of firms' financing constraints. In particular, they find that greater outreach is correlated with standard measures of financial development, as well as with economic activity. Controlling for these factors, the authors find that better communication and transport infrastructure and better governance are also associated with greater outreach. Government ownership of financial institutions translates into lower access, while more concentrated banking systems are associated with greater outreach. Finally, firms in countries with higher branch and ATM penetration and higher use of loan services report lower financing obstacles, thus linking banking sector outreach to the alleviation of firms' financing constraints.

Abstract:
The intensity of the crisis in financial markets has surprised nearly everyone. This paper searches out the root causes of the crisis, distinguishing them from scapegoating explanations that have been used in policy circles to divert attention from the underlying breakdown of incentives. Incentive conflicts explain how securitization went wrong, why credit ratings proved so inaccurate, and why it is superficial to blame the crisis on mark-to-market accounting, an unexpected loss of liquidity or trends in globalization and deregulation in financial markets. The analysis finds disturbing implications of the crisis for Basel II and its implementation. The paper argues that the principal source of financial instability lies in contradictory political and bureaucratic incentives that undermine the effectiveness of financial regulation and supervision around the world. In concluding the paper identifies reforms that would improve incentives by increasing transparency and accountability in government and industry alike.

financial crisis, securitization, regulation and supervision, safety nets

Abstract:
This paper illustrates the trends in deposit insurance adoption. It discusses the cross-country differences in design, and synthesizes the policy messages from cross-country empirical work as well as individual country experiences. The paper develops practical lessons from this work and distills the evidence into a set of principles of good design. Cross-country empirical research and individual-country experience confirm that, for at least the time being, officials in many countries would do well to delay the installation of a deposit insurance system.

Banks & Banking Reform, Financial Intermediation, Financial Crisis Management & Restructuring, Insurance & Risk Mitigation, Non Bank Financial Institutions

Abstract:
This paper introduces the updated and expanded version of the Financial Development and Structure Database and presents recent trends in structure and development of financial institutions and markets across countries. The authors add indicators on banking structure and financial globalization. They find a deepening of both financial markets and institutions, a trend concentrated in high-income countries and more pronounced for markets than for banks. Similarly, the recent increase in cross-border lending and debt issues has been concentrated in high-income countries, while low and lower-middle income countries have experienced an increase in remittance flows. Low net interest margins, rising profitability and declining stability in high-income countries’ banking sectors characterize the recent financial sector boom in high income countries leading up to the global financial crisis of 2007.

Debt Markets, Emerging Markets, Banks & Banking Reform, Economic Theory & Research

Abstract:
In this paper we focus on two issues. First, we examine whether firms in a thirty country sample finance long-term and short-term investment similarly. Second, we investigate whether perceived differences in the efficiency of the legal systems and in financial institutions across countries are reflected in the ability of firms to obtain external financing and grow at rates greater than they could attain by relying on their internal resources or short-term borrowing. Across our sample, we find positive correlations between investment in plant and equipment and retained earnings, and negative correlations between investment in plant and equipment and external financing. We find negative correlations between investment in short-term assets and retained earnings, and positive correlations between investment in short-term assets and external financing. The findings suggest that across different legal and financial systems, financial markets and intermediaries have a comparative advantage in funding short-term investment. For each firm our sample we estimate a predicted rate at which it can grow if it does not rely on long-term external financing. We show that the proportion of firms that grow at rates exceeding this predicted rate in each country is associated with specific features of the legal system, financial markets and institutions. In countries whose legal systems score high on the efficiency index a greater proportion of firms use long-term external financing, in particular, long-term debt. An active, though not necessarily large, stock market and a large banking sector are also associated with externally financed firm growth. In our sample government subsidies to industry to not increase the proportion of firms growing at rates that exceed the predicted rate.

Abstract:
This paper studies whether compliance with the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision (BCPs) improves bank soundness. The authors find a significant and positive relationship between bank soundness (measured with Moody's financial strength ratings) and compliance with principles related to information provision. Specifically, countries that require banks to regularly and accurately report their financial data to regulators and market participants have sounder banks. This relationship is robust to controlling for broad indexes of institutional quality, macroeconomic variables, sovereign ratings, and reverse causality. Measuring soundness through Z-scores yields similar results. These findings emphasize the importance of transparency in making supervisory processes effective and strengthening market discipline. Countries aiming to upgrade banking regulation and supervision should consider giving priority to information provision over other elements of the core principles.

Abstract:
This study analyzes panel data for 61 countries during 1980-97 and concludes that explicit deposit insurance tends to be detrimental to bank stability, the more so where bank interest rates are deregulated and the institutional environment is weak. Also, the adverse impact of deposit insurance on bank stability tends to be stronger when the coverage offered to depositors is extensive, when the scheme is funded, and when it is run by the government rather than by the private sector.

Abstract:
Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Maksimovic investigate how a country's financial institutions and the quality of its legal system explain the size attained by its largest industrial firms in a sample of 44 countries. Firm size is positively related to the size of the banking system and the efficiency of the legal system. Thus, the authors find no evidence that firms are larger in order to internalize the functions of the banking system or to compensate for the general inefficiency of the legal system. But they do find evidence that externally financed firms are smaller in countries that have strong creditor rights and efficient legal systems. This suggests that firms in countries with weak creditor protections are larger in order to internalize the protection of capital investment.

This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the determinants of firm size.

Abstract:
This paper critically reviews the literature on finance and inequality, highlighting substantive gaps in the literature. Finance plays a crucial role in most theories of persistent inequality. Unsurprisingly, therefore, economic theory provides a rich set of predictions concerning both the impact of finance on inequality and about the relevant mechanisms. Although subject to ample qualifications, the bulk of empirical research suggests that improvements in financial contracts, markets, and intermediaries expand economic opportunities and reduce inequality. Yet, there is a shortage of theoretical and empirical research on the potentially enormous impact of formal financial sector policies, such as bank regulations and securities law, on persistent inequality. Furthermore, there is no conceptual framework for considering the joint and endogenous evolution of finance, inequality, and economic growth.

Access to Finance, Economic Theory & Research, Debt Markets, Inequality

Abstract:
This paper examines the implications of bank activity and short-term funding strategies for bank risk and returns using an international sample of 1,334 banks in 101 countries leading up to the 2007 financial crisis. Expansion into non-interest income generating activities such as trading increases the rate of return on assets, and it may offer some risk diversification benefits at very low levels. Non-deposit, wholesale funding, by contrast, lowers the rate of return on assets, although it can offer some risk reduction at commonly observed low levels of non-deposit funding. A sizeable proportion of banks, however, attract most of their short-term funding in the form of non-deposits at a cost of enhanced bank fragility. Overall, banking strategies that rely prominently on generating non-interest income or attracting non-deposit funding are very risky, which is consistent with the demise of the U.S. investment banking sector.

Banks & Banking Reform, Debt Markets, Emerging Markets, Access to Finance

Abstract:
Using aggregate and bank level data for several countries, the paper studies what happens to the banking system in the aftermath of a banking crisis. Contemporary crises are not accompanied by declines in aggregate bank deposits, and credit does not fall relative to output, although the growth of both deposits and credit slows down substantially. Output recovery begins in the second year after the crisis and is not led by a resumption in credit growth. Banks, including the stronger ones, reallocate their asset portfolio away from loans.

Banking crises, bank runs, credit crunch

Abstract:
This paper explores how a multivariate logit empirical model of banking crisis probabilities can be used to monitor banking sector fragility. The proposed approach relies on readily available data, and the fragility assessment has a clear interpretation based on in-sample statistics. The model has better in-sample performance than currently available alternatives, and the monitoring system can be tailored to fit the preferences of the decision maker regarding type I and type II errors. The framework can be useful as a preliminary screen to economize on precautionary costs.

Banking crises bank fragility monitoring

Abstract:
Using data for 91 large banks from 45 countries, this paper finds few differences in the extent, type, and pricing of SME loans across foreign, private, and government-owned banks, even though different bank ownership types apply different lending technologies and have different organizational structures. Instead, we find significant differences across banks in developed and developing countries, driven by differences in the economic, institutional, and legal environment, as opposed to by differences in lending technologies and organizational structures. Finally, the link between lending technologies, organizational structures, and SME financing is not consistent with the conventional view that SME lending is based on “relationship lending”.

small and medium enterprises, bank ownership, lending technology, access to finance