Showing papers by "Asli Demirguc-Kunt published in 2016"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used proprietary data on 1,335 micro-finance institutions between 2005 and 2009, jointly serving 80.1 million borrowers, to calculate the costs of micro finance and other elements of the microfinance business model, finding that on average, subsidies amounted to $132 per borrower, but the distribution is highly skewed.
Abstract: Recent evidence suggests only modest social and economic impacts of microfinance. Favorable cost-benefit ratios then depend on low costs. This paper uses proprietary data on 1,335 microfinance institutions between 2005 and 2009, jointly serving 80.1 million borrowers, to calculate the costs of microfinance and other elements of the microfinance business model. It calculates that on average, subsidies amounted to $132 per borrower, but the distribution is highly skewed. The median microfinance institution used subsidies at a rate of just $26 per borrower, and no subsidy was used by the institution at the 25th percentile. These data suggest that, for some institutions, even modest benefits could yield impressive cost-benefit ratios. At the same time, the data show that the subsidy is large for some institutions. Counter to expectations, the most heavily-subsidized group of borrowers is customers of the most commercialized institutions, with an average of $275 per borrower and a median of $93. Customers of nongovernmental organizations, which focus on the poorest customers and women, receive a far smaller subsidy: the median microfinance nongovernmental organization used subsidy at a rate of $23 per borrower, and subsidy for the nongovernmental organization at the 25th percentile was just $3 per borrower.
76 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between banks' capitalization strategies and their corporate governance and executive compensation schemes for an international sample of banks over the 2003-2011 period.
66 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine how the ability to access long-term debt affects firm-level growth volatility and find that firms in industries with stronger preference to use longterm finance relative to short-term finance experience lower growth volatility in countries with better-developed financial systems, as these firms may benefit from reduced refinancing risk.
15 citations
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TL;DR: This article found that about 25 percent of adults worldwide save for old age, with rates exceeding 35 percent in high-income Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development economies and the East Asia and Pacific region.
Abstract: Countries around the world face a retirement crisis brought on by aging populations, declining birthrates, and fiscal shortfalls. As a result, policy makers increasingly seek to understand retirement savings patterns, a crucial component of the safety net for the elderly. Drawing on the 2014 Global Findex database, which provides individual-level data on the use of financial products in more than 140 countries, this paper examines how adults save for old age. It finds that about 25 percent of adults worldwide save for old age, with rates exceeding 35 percent in high-income Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development economies and the East Asia and Pacific region. On average, men are slightly more likely than women to save for this purpose, but the gender gap is deeper in developing countries. Worldwide, saving for old age is more common among older adults, more educated adults, and adults who own accounts. Adults in countries with English legal origin, and with high savings rates, are also more likely to save for old age. The paper also finds that measures to increase trust in the financial system, such as the safety net/moral hazard index based on deposit insurance, lead to higher rates of saving for old age. Finally, the paper finds little evidence of substitution between pension system provisions and contribution rates with saving for old age.
11 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how the ability to access long-term debt affects firm-level growth volatility and find that firms in industries with stronger preference to use longterm finance relative to short-term finance experience lower growth volatility in countries with better-developed financial systems, as these firms may benefit from reduced refinancing risk.
Abstract: This paper examines how the ability to access long-term debt affects firm-level growth volatility. The analysis finds that firms in industries with stronger preference to use long-term finance relative to short-term finance experience lower growth volatility in countries with better-developed financial systems, as these firms may benefit from reduced refinancing risk. Institutions that facilitate the availability of credit information and contract enforcement mitigate the refinancing risk and therefore growth volatility associated with short-term financing. Increased availability of long-term finance reduces growth volatility in crisis as well as non-crisis periods.
10 citations
TL;DR: This article found that bank interest expenses rise relatively more with internationalization if the bank is underperforming or headquartered in a country with weak public finances, and especially at times of weak world output growth.
8 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used proprietary data on 1,335 micro-finance institutions between 2005 and 2009, jointly serving 80.1 million borrowers, to calculate the costs of micro finance and other elements of the microfinance business model, finding that on average, subsidies amounted to $132 per borrower, but the distribution is highly skewed.
Abstract: Recent evidence suggests only modest social and economic impacts of microfinance. Favorable cost-benefit ratios then depend on low costs. This paper uses proprietary data on 1,335 microfinance institutions between 2005 and 2009, jointly serving 80.1 million borrowers, to calculate the costs of microfinance and other elements of the microfinance business model. It calculates that on average, subsidies amounted to $132 per borrower, but the distribution is highly skewed. The median microfinance institution used subsidies at a rate of just $26 per borrower, and no subsidy was used by the institution at the 25th percentile. These data suggest that, for some institutions, even modest benefits could yield impressive cost-benefit ratios. At the same time, the data show that the subsidy is large for some institutions. Counter to expectations, the most heavily-subsidized group of borrowers is customers of the most commercialized institutions, with an average of $275 per borrower and a median of $93. Customers of nongovernmental organizations, which focus on the poorest customers and women, receive a far smaller subsidy: the median microfinance nongovernmental organization used subsidy at a rate of $23 per borrower, and subsidy for the nongovernmental organization at the 25th percentile was just $3 per borrower.
1 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how the ability to access long-term debt affects firm-level growth volatility and find that firms with stronger preference to use longterm finance relative to short-term finance experience lower growth volatility in countries with better developed financial systems.
Abstract: In an approach analogous to Rajan and Zingales (1998), we examine how the ability to access long-term debt affects firm-level growth volatility. We find that firms in industries with stronger preference to use long-term finance relative to short-term finance experience lower growth volatility in countries with better-developed financial systems, as these firms may benefit from reduced refinancing risk. Institutions that facilitate the availability of credit information and contract enforcement mitigate refinancing risk and therefore growth volatility associated with short-term financing. Increased availability of long-term finance reduces growth volatility in crisis as well as non-crisis periods.
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used proprietary data on 1,335 micro-finance institutions between 2005 and 2009, jointly serving 80.1 million borrowers, to calculate the costs of micro finance and other elements of the microfinance business model, finding that on average, subsidies amounted to $132 per borrower, but the distribution is highly skewed.
Abstract: Recent evidence suggests only modest social and economic impacts of microfinance. Favorable cost-benefit ratios then depend on low costs. This paper uses proprietary data on 1,335 microfinance institutions between 2005 and 2009, jointly serving 80.1 million borrowers, to calculate the costs of microfinance and other elements of the microfinance business model. It calculates that on average, subsidies amounted to $132 per borrower, but the distribution is highly skewed. The median microfinance institution used subsidies at a rate of just $26 per borrower, and no subsidy was used by the institution at the 25th percentile. These data suggest that, for some institutions, even modest benefits could yield impressive cost-benefit ratios. At the same time, the data show that the subsidy is large for some institutions. Counter to expectations, the most heavily-subsidized group of borrowers is customers of the most commercialized institutions, with an average of $275 per borrower and a median of $93. Customers of nongovernmental organizations, which focus on the poorest customers and women, receive a far smaller subsidy: the median microfinance nongovernmental organization used subsidy at a rate of $23 per borrower, and subsidy for the nongovernmental organization at the 25th percentile was just $3 per borrower.