Finance for All?: Policies and Pitfalls in Expanding Access Book

Foreword     ix
The Report Team     xiii
Abbreviations     xv
Overview and Summary     1
Access to Finance and Development: Theory and Measurement     21
Theory: The Crucial Role of Access to Finance     23
Measurement: Indicators of Access to Finance     26
Conclusions     51
Notes     52
Firms' Access to Finance: Entry, Growth, and Productivity     55
Access to Finance: Determinants and Implications     57
The Channels of Impact: Micro and Macro Evidence     60
Transforming the Economy: Differences in Impact     66
What Aspects of Financial Sector Development Matter for Access?     70
Conclusions     90
Notes     91
Household Access to Finance: Poverty Alleviation and Risk Mitigation     99
Finance, Inequality, and Poverty     100
Providing Financial Access to Households and Microentrepreneurs: How and by Whom?     113
Reaching Out to the Poor or to the Excluded?     133
Conclusions     138
Notes     139
Government's Role in Facilitating Access     143
Expanding Access: Importance of Long-Term Institution Building     146
Specific Policies to Facilitate Financial Access     152
Policies to Promote Competition and Stability     156
Government Interventions in the Market     163
Political Economy of Access     176
Conclusions     179
Notes     180
Data Appendix     189
References     213