World Bank

About: World Bank is a other organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poverty. The organization has 7813 authors who have published 21594 publications receiving 1198361 citations. The organization is also known as: World Bank, WB & The World Bank.

Bank Capital: Lessons from the Financial Crisis

Abstract: Using a multi-country panel of banks, the authors study whether better capitalized banks fared better in terms of stock returns during the financial crisis. They differentiate among various types of capital ratios: the Basel risk-adjusted ratio; the leverage ratio; the Tier I and Tier II ratios; and the common equity ratio. They find several results: (i) before the crisis, differences in capital did not affect subsequent stock returns; (ii) during the crisis, higher capital resulted in better stock performance, most markedly for larger banks and less well-capitalized banks; (iii) the relationship between stock returns and capital is stronger when capital is measured by the leverage ratio rather than the risk-adjusted capital ratio; (iv) there is evidence that higher quality forms of capital, such as Tier 1 capital, were more relevant. They also examine the relationship between bank capitalization and credit default swap (CDS) spreads.

Cities and greenhouse gas emissions: moving forward

Abstract: Cities are blamed for the majority of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. So too are more affluent, highly urbanized countries. If all production- and consumption-based emissions that result from lifestyle and purchasing habits are included, urban residents and their associated affluence likely account for more than 80 per cent of the world's GHG emissions. Attribution of GHG emissions should be refined. Apportioning responsibility can be misguided, as recent literature demonstrates that residents of denser city centres can emit half the GHG emissions of their suburban neighbours. It also fails to capture the enormous disparities within and across cities as emissions are lowest for poor cities and particularly low for the urban poor. This paper presents a detailed analysis of per capita GHG emissions for several large cities and a review of per capita emissions for 100 cities for which peer-reviewed studies are available. This highlights how average per capita GHG emissions for cities vary from more than 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) (Sydney, Calgary, Stuttgart and several major US cities) to less than half a tonne (various cities in Nepal, India and Bangladesh). The paper discusses where GHG emissions arise and where mitigation efforts may be most effective. It illustrates the need to obtain comparable estimates at city level and the importance of defining the scope of the analysis. Emissions for Toronto are presented at a neighbourhood level, city core level and metropolitan area level, and these are compared with provincial and national per capita totals. This shows that GHG emissions can vary noticeably for the same resident of a city or country depending on whether these are production- or consumption-based values. The methodologies and results presented form important inputs for policy development across urban sectors. The paper highlights the benefits and drawbacks of apportioning GHG emissions (and solid waste generation) per person. A strong correlation between high rates of GHG emissions and solid waste generation is presented. Policies that address both in concert may be more effective as they are both largely by-products of lifestyles.

Remittances, Institutions and Economic Growth

Abstract: There is considerable debate regarding the relative contribution of international migrants' remittances to sustainable economic development. While the rates and levels of officially recorded remittances to developing countries has increased enormously over the last decade, academic and policy-oriented research has not come to a consensus over whether remittances contribute to longer-term growth by building human and financial capital or degrade long-run growth by creating labor substitution and "Dutch disease" effects. This paper suggests that contradictory findings have emerged when looking at the remittances-growth link because previous studies have not correctly controlled for endogeneity. Using Dynamic Data Panel estimates we find that remittances exert a weakly positive impact on long-term macroeconomic growth. The paper also considers the proposition that the longer-term developmental impact of remittances is increased in the presence of sound economic policies and institutions.

Foreign Bank Entry: Experience, Implications for Developing Countries, and Agenda for Further Research

Abstract: Foreign banks are playing an increasingly large role in many developing countries, holding more than 50 percent of banking assets in several of these countries. But important issues about foreign bank entry continue to be debated. In recent years foreign bank participation has increased tremendously in several developing countries. In Argentina, Chile, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, for example, more than 50 percent of banking assets are now in foreign-controlled banks. In Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union the rate of entry by foreign banks has been slower, but the trend is similar. Although the number of countries welcoming foreign banks is growing, many questions about foreign bank entry are still being debated, including: • What draws foreign banks to a country? • Which banks expand abroad? • What do foreign banks do once they arrive? • How does the mode of a bank's entry - for example, as a branch of its parent or as an independent subsidiary company - affect its behavior? Clarke and his coauthors summarize current knowledge on these issues. In addition, since the existing literature focuses heavily on industrial countries, they put forth an agenda for further study of the effects of foreign bank entry in developing countries. This paper - a product of the Office of the Senior Vice President, Development Economics - is a background paper for World Development Report 2002: Institutions for Markets. The authors may be contacted at gclarke@worldbank.org, rcull@worldbank.org, mmartinezperia@worldbank.org, or ssanchez@worldbank.org.