This paper examines three questions. First, do countries with relatively weak government/ bureaucratic systems impose harsher regulatory restrictions on activities of banks? Second, do countries with more restrictive regulatory systems have poorly functioning banking systems? Third, do countries...

This paper examines the impact of restricting foreign bank entry on bank net interest margins while controlling for (a) impediments to domestic bank entry, (b) the degree of foreign bank ownership of the domestic banking industry, (c) an array of bank-specific characteristics, (c) banking...

We document five stylized facts of economic growth. (1) The “residual” rather than factor accumulation accounts for most of the income and growth differences across nations. (2) Income diverges over the long run. (3) Factor accumulation is persistent while growth is not persistent and the...

Given conflicting theoretical predictions about the impact of stock markets and banks on economic growth, this paper empirically evaluates this debate. The results emphasize the growth-enhancing role of stock markets and banks. Chile is clearly an outlier; it has less liquid stock markets and...

Is banking sector concentration associated with negative outcomes internationally? This paper finds that the answer is "no." Greater bank concentration is not strongly associated with negative outcomes in terms of financial sector development, industrial competition, political and legal system...

This paper evaluates (1) whether the exogenous component of financial intermediary development influences economic growth and (2) whether cross-country differences in legal and accounting systems (e.g., creditor rights, contract enforcement, and accounting standards) explain differences in the...