The low and declining female labour force participation rate in India despite strong growth over the past decade is puzzling and stands out among emerging markets. At the same time greater economic participation of women can be a source of inclusive growth, and wellbeing. Assessing determinants...

We examine the effect of finance on long-term economic growth using Bayesian model averaging to address model uncertainty in cross-country growth regressions. The literature largely focuses on financial indicators that assess the financial depth of banks and stock markets. We examine these...

This paper analyzes the links between multilateral, and unilateral financial liberalization, the former represented by the General Agreements on Trade in Services (GATS). It provides an overview of the main features of the GATS and what the participants in banking and securities within its...

The goal of the U.S. National Energy Policy is to foster an adequate supply of energy at reasonable costs by promoting a balanced and mixed energy resource system that is not unduly dependent on any single source of supply, either foreign or domestic. Because the world oil market is...

Some propose that the Baltics seek deeper trade integration with the East to maintain existing trade flows and because the Baltics have had little market access to the West. The author argues against such integration, proposing instead that the Baltics improve trade relations with the West,...

The paper reviews Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) (i) own market access commitments in the Uruguay Round, and (ii) the nature of the constraints on SSA policies set by the Uruguay Round. It concludes that SSA failed to use the Uruguay Round to lock domestic reforms to an international anchor. Apart...

Analysis on macroeconomic determinants of protection in the Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary, and Poland, while subject to many caveats, suggests that appreciation of the real exchange rate was the main macroeconomic determinant of trade policy reversals in the 1990s. This suggests that...

This paper examines the Chilean experience with capital controls and reviews studies on controls on capital inflows. Controls on Chile’s inflows had only a temporary impact in reducing specific inflows because they were affected by avoidance. There is some evidence that controls increased...

This paper reviews the economics of trade policy in financial services, highlighting differences between trade across borders and through commercial presence. Trade liberalization could complement other financial reforms by enhancing the efficiency, quality, and variety of financial services and...