The fiscal stimulus measures that many Asian countries took to counteract the 2008/9 global financial crisis helped the region lead the global recovery. Yet, with few exceptions, the increased spending and weakened revenues have caused government budget balances and debt ratios to deteriorate...

A potentially important side effect of quantitative easing(QE) by the United States (US) Federal Reserve System (the Fed) is the expansion of capital flows into developing countries. As a result, there is widespread concern that QE tapering may trigger financial instability in those countries....

Economic theory suggests that sound and efficient financial systems - banks, equity markets, and bond markets - which channel capital to its most productive uses are beneficial for economic growth. Sound and efficient financial systems are especially important for sustaining growth in developing...

The book reviews the legal and economic framework governing international trade in tobacco. It assesses the export potential of a select group of developing countries through an analysis of their production structures and manufacturing capacities. Further, it analyzes countries' support of their...

The study assesses the factors underlying commodity price volatility, its impact on households welfare, and the implications for macroeconomic and fiscal policy. It finds that: (i) low-income countries are highly vulnerable to fluctuations in commodity prices; (ii) financial speculation has...

This paper takes a first pass at assessing areas of implementation for distributed ledger (or blockchain) technology in the context of development finance. It identifies five use cases, including digital identity, trade finance, project aid monitoring, smart energy, and supply chain management....