Why do some economies grow faster than others? Do economies in the middle-income range face especially difficult challenges producing consistent growth? Using a transition matrix analysis on decade-level growth rates, we find that the data clearly reject the idea that middle-income economies...

Past governments in Myanmar presided over a system generally characterized by weak fiscal management, but this has recently changed with the present government restoring a measure of fiscal discipline, reorienting fiscal priorities, and establishing a clear set of fiscal objectives in the...

Using panel data regressions, this paper analyzes the effect of imperfections in the formal export credit and insurance market on trade growth in the regions of Africa and Asia. An exclusive comparison of trade performance of the two regions with respect to export credit and insurance is novel...

Myanmar's macroeconomic policy framework does not adequately support the new functions of the Central Bank of Myanmar. The monetary policy regime is deficient and institutions that complement the working of a market-based economy lacking. This paper identifies 10 priority areas for reform to...

We use a dynamic forecasting model to evaluate a wide array of opportunities for sustained economic growth in Myanmar. Our simulation results suggest that the government of Myanmar can advance potential growth drivers, by maintaining a stable macroeconomic environment that is conducive to...

We construct an index of financial development for 23 Asian economies based on subindices of access, depth, and efficiency of financial institutions and markets and find evidence that economies with weaker financial systems are catching up to the Asian benchmark economies, namely Hong Kong,...

In this paper, we examine the evolution of intra-East Asian financial integration from 2001 to 2013. Most existing studies on this topic look primarily at asset holdings; we examine liability holdings as well. Using the International Monetary Fund's Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey data...

The global financial crisis underlined that sound and effective bank regulation is vital to financial stability. Assessments of the global financial crisis invariably point to ineffective finance regulation and supervision as the main reasons for the onset of the crisis and its severity. In...

This paper uses directed bilateral flow data on multiple dimensions of economic integration to construct a composite index of regional integration outcomes covering 19 regions in various parts of the world. As a first step, the multidimensional indicator is used to rank regions according to...

The central objective of our paper is to empirically examine the relationship between financial development and income inequality. Theoretically, there are grounds for both a positive and negative relationship between the two variables. Our main finding is that financial development contributes...