The policy debate on whether to strengthen or to remove the legal barriers between banking and commerce has paid little attention to what the practical effects of removing the barriers would be. To help answer this question, this article, the first part of a two-part study, provides an overview...

In the first part (in the previous issue of Economic Review) of this two-part study, the authors identified a number of possible benefits from combining banking and commerce, including portfolio diversification, the creation of internal capital markets, and economies of scale and scope. This...

This paper estimates an Odedokun-type “supply-leading” model of financial sector development (FSD) which incorporates both banking and capital market variables as potential drivers of economic growth. The current findings illustrate the impact on economic growth of various measures of FSD...

This study examines the impact of external factors, such as law, regulation, and technology on a country's rate of economic growth. The results suggest that the technological, legal, and regulatory environment can play a major role towards enhancing the smooth functioning of the financial system...