Finance & Private Sector Development

A well-functioning financial system and a vigorous private sector are important drivers of growth and poverty reduction. Finance is central to private sector development and vice versa, and large parts of both sub-disciplines revolve around the behavior and performance of firms.

Featured

The Global Findex, Financial Inclusion & Resilience
Policy Research Talk, November 15, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic increased digital adoption worldwide, as people sought alternative ways to address daily needs without face-to-face contact. Results from the latest Global Findex survey—conducted in 2021 in 123 countries with more than 125,000 respondents during the COVID-19 pandemic—offer insights into how digitalization of payments contributed to increases in financial inclusion. In this Policy Research Talk, World Bank Lead Economist and Global Findex founder Leora Klapper will discuss the latest Global Findex findings, how technology has expanded access to financial services, the opportunities to close the remaining gaps, and the areas that countries need to focus on moving ahead.
Video | The Global Findex Database | Event Information | Presentation
The Global Findex Database 2021: Financial Inclusion, Digital Payments, and Resilience in the Age of COVID-19
Global Database, June 2022
Financial inclusion is a cornerstone of development, and since 2011, the Global Findex Database has been the definitive source of data on global access to financial services from payments to savings and borrowing. The 2021 edition, based on nationally representative surveys of over 125,000 adults in 123 economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, contains updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services and digital payments, and offers insights into the behaviors that enable financial resilience.
The Global Findex Database 2021 | Blog Post | Video | Press Release | Download Report | Executive Summary
World Development Report 2022: Finance for an Equitable Recovery
Flagship Report, March 2022
This report examines the central role of finance in the economic recovery from COVID-19. Based on an in-depth look at the consequences of the crisis most likely to affect low- and middle-income economies, it advocates a set of policies and measures to mitigate the interconnected economic risks stemming from the pandemic, risks that may become more acute as stimulus measures are withdrawn at both the domestic and global levels.
World Development Report 2022 | Launch Event | Report Overview | Video
Data from Secondary Markets: Insights and Implications for Development
Policy Research Talk, March 22, 2022
Since the Great Recession cross-border financial assets have grown nearly 60 percent. While cross-border bank lending has stayed relatively constant, cross-border portfolios and market-based finance have grown tremendously. In this talk, World Bank economist Alvaro Pedraza sheds light on this pressing issue with recent insights from the Colombian Stock Exchange (CSE).
Video | Presentation | Event Page | More About Alvaro Pedraza
World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives—Research Directions and Measuring Country Capacity
Policy Research Talk, May 25, 2021
In this Policy Research Talk, members of the report team illustrate the potential to combine private and public intent data to yield timelier, more granular insights to confront policy challenges, as well as research findings from data quality experiments and assessments. The team presents new data sources released in conjunction with the report.
Event Information | Video | Presentation (Part 1 & 2) | Presentation (Part 3) | World Development 2021: Data for Better Lives

LATEST WORKING PAPERS

Government Support and Firm Performance during COVID-19
Miriam Bruhn, Asli Demirguc-Kunt, Dorothe Singer
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10641, December 2023

Banking in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges in Volatile Times
Thorsten Beck, Robert J. Cull, Davide Salvatore Mare, Patricio Valenzuela
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10632, December 2023

Migration, families, and counterfactual families
Simone Bertoli, David J. Mckenzie, Elie Murard
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10626, December 2023

Is There Still A Role for Direct Government Support to Firms in Developing Countries?
David J. Mckenzie
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10628, December 2023

Digital Payments and the COVID-19 Shock: The Role of Preexisting Conditions in Banking, Infrastructure, Human Capabilities, and Digital Regulation
Robert J. Cull, Vivien Foster, Dean Mitchell Jolliffe, Daniel Lederman, Davide Salvatore Mare, Malarvizhi Veerappan
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10603, November 2023

Job Training and Job Search Assistance Policies in Developing Countries
Eliana Carranza, David J. Mckenzie
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10576, September 2023

Training Microentrepreneurs over Zoom: Experimental Evidence from Mexico
Elwyn Adriaan Robin Davies, Peter William Deffebach, Leonardo Iacovone, David J. Mckenzie
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10574, September 2023

More Working Papers

LATEST JOURNAL ARTICLES

Fears and Tears: Should More People Be Moving within and from Developing Countries, and What Stops this Movement?
David McKenzie
The World Bank Research Observer, vol. 39, February 2024 | Working Paper Verison

Estimating the demand for business training: Evidence from Jamaica
Alessandro Maffioli, David McKenzie, Diego Ubfal
Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. 72, October 2023 | Working Paper Version

Can Information and Alternatives to Irregular Migration Reduce 'Backway' Migration from the Gambia?
Tijan L. Bah, Catia Batista, Flore Gubert, David McKenzie
Journal of Development Economics, vol. 165, October 2023 | Working Paper Version

Active Trading and (Poor) Performance: The Social Transmission Channel
Laura Escobar, Alvaro Pedraza
Journal of Financial Economics, vol. 150, October 2023 | Working Paper Version

Capacity Building as a Route to Export Market Expansion: A Six-Country Experiment in the Western Balkans
Ana P. Cusolito, Ornella Darova, David McKenzie
Journal of International Economics, vol. 144, September 2023 | Working Paper Version

System-, Teacher-, and Student-level Interventions for Improving Participation in Online Learning at Scale in High Schools
Igor Asanov, Anastasiya-Mariya Asanov (Noha), Thomas Åstebro, Guido Buenstorf, Bruno Crépon, Francisco Pablo Flores, David McKenzie, Mona Mensmann, Mathis Schulte
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), July 2023 | SIEF Workshop

BOOKS AND REPORTS

Handbook of Microfinance, Financial Inclusion, and Development
This timely Handbook collates a range of evidence from top scholars in the field to help readers understand who microfinance reaches, how it helps, and why clients come back. It offers updated views on important concepts that enable a broader framework for understanding poverty and the corresponding financial needs of poor households.

World Development Report 2022: Finance for an Equitable Recovery
World Development Report 2022: Finance for an Equitable Recovery examines the central role of finance in the economic recovery from the pandemic.

The Global Findex Database 2021: Financial Inclusion, Digital Payments, and Resilience in the Age of COVID-19
The 2021 edition of the Global Findex Database contains updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services and digital payments, and offers insights into the behaviors that enable financial resilience.

World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives
This report explores the tremendous potential of the changing data landscape to improve the lives of poor people, while also acknowledging its potential to open back doors that can harm individuals, businesses, and societies.