This paper analyses the development of the banking sector in twelve transition countries. Foreign banks have become major players in the financial system of these countries. Still, foreign bank presence and financial development in general vary considerably between these economies. Distance from...

The formulation of a competitive strategy implies an extended understanding, in terms of the industrial structures, of the mains fields where the nations compete and those structures evolve. The environmental conditions of a region, and of its industries, determine both the generic strategies,...

This paper presents a scoring model that predicts the risk of drop-out for borrowers at a microfinance lender in Bolivia. Drop-out risk was greater for women, manufacturers, newer borrowers, and those with more arrears. Out-of-sample tests suggest that scoring may help microfinance lenders to...

Attempts to gauge the depth of outreach of microfinance organizations usually start--and often end--with the measurement of loan size. But just what is loan size? Loan size has at least seven aspects, each of which matters not only for depth of outreach but also for profitability. The aspects...

Family businesses carry the weight of economic wealth creation in most economies. In the U.S. alone, family businesses account for 80 to 90 percent of the 18-million business enterprises in the United States, and 50 percent of the employment and GNP. In many ways, the family business is...

Corporate venturing as a strategy for international business development has become significant in view of the process of globalization resulting into the free trade and business development opportunities for multinational companies. This study is based on empirical investigation through...

This paper, a synthesis of salient findings of the authors’ book entitled “Investment Climate Around the World: Voices of the Firms from the World Business Environment Survey”, and based on a chapter in “Pathways Out of Poverty: Private Firms and Economic Mobility in Developing...

L'article présente brièvement deux questions fondamentales relatives aux liens entre l'entrepreneuriat et la croissance économique. La première question s'intéresse à leurs rapports endogènes. Nous suggérons en particulier que si plus d'entrepreneurs peut signifier plus de croissance...

This paper constructs an equilibrium model of entrepreneurial innovation where individuals differ in their attitude toward uncertainty. Unlike previous models of innovation, the firm-formation process is endogenous. An entrepreneur, who owns residual profits, utilizes an uncertain technology and...