The present paper was prepared by Ms. Willene Johnson, member of the Committee for Development Committee, as a background paper for deliberations by the Committee at its eighth session. This study reviews policy efforts to advance growth and development in the least developed countries, in...

Loan volume creates public information. One lender’s underwriting activities generate valuable information not only for the lender itself, but also for other lenders operating in the same neighborhood. The Lang and Nakamura (L-N) model hypothesizes that the total loan volume in a...

This paper presents quite recent (2003) review of the Portuguese pension system with a particular focus on the public pension provision organised by the state. First part briefly explains the origins of the system. Chapter two focuses on the structure of the pension system, with a general...

This paper employs data on 119 countries for the period 1999/2000 to 2004/2005 to examine the impact of banking development on the size of shadow economies. The main results indicate that an improvement in the development of the banking sector is associated with a smaller shadow economy in a...

The opponents of financial transactions taxes (FTTs) have argued that the imposition of such taxes will slow economic growth by raising the cost of capital. The argument is that if the cost of buying and selling stock and other financial assets is higher, then it makes it more expensive for...

This is a discussion paper prepared for Expert Group Meeting on resource mobilization for poverty eradication in the Least Developed Countries which was held in New York from 19-20 January 2004.

This is a discussion paper prepared for Expert Group Meeting on resource mobilization for poverty eradication in the Least Developed Countries which was held in New York from 19-20 January 2004.

A market-oriented housing finance system has been under discussion in Turkey recently. In this article we analyze different types of mortgages that have been used in developed and developing countries to select the one that is most appropriate for Turkey-one which minimizes risks for both...

One outcome of the TARP and other bank rescue efforts following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September of 2008 is that the United States has essentially formalized a commitment to a “too big to fail” (TBTF) policy for major banks. This paper uses data from the FDIC on the relative cost...

This is an Invited paper for the World Congress of the Econometric Society held in Seattle in August 2000. We discuss the strong connections between auction theory and "standard" economic theory, and argue that auction-theoretic tools and intuitions can provide useful arguments and insights in a...