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Finance for All? Policies and Pitfalls in Expanding AccessThis book, finance for all, presents first efforts at developing indicators illustrating that financial access is quite limited around the world and identifies barriers that may be preventing small firms and poor households from using financial services. Based on this research, the report derives principles for effective government policy on broadening access. The report's conclusions confirm some traditional views and challenge others. For example, recent research provides additional evidence to support the widely-held belief that financial development promotes growth and illustrates the role of access in this process. Improved access to finance creates an environment conducive to new firm entry, innovation, and growth. However, research also shows that small firms benefit the most from financial development and greater access-both in terms of entry and seeing their growth constraints relaxed. Hence, inclusive financial systems also have consequences for the composition and competition in the enterprise sector. This report reviews and synthesizes a large body of research, and provides the basis for sound policy advice in the area of financial access. The findings in this report also underline the importance of investing in data collection: continued work on measuring and evaluating the impact of access requires detailed micro data both at the household and enterprise level.
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The World Bank Group's Response
 to the Global Economic Crisis : Phase 1The global economic crisis that began in
 2008 threatened to erase years of progress in developing
 countries. In response, the World Bank Group increased
 lending to unprecedented levels. The World Bank posted a
 large increase in middle income countries (MICs), and a much
 smaller one in low income countries (LICs). The
 International Finance Corporation (IFC) focused on trade
 finance, mainly in LICs. Its new business initially fell in
 MICs, rebounding only in late fiscal 2010. The Multilateral
 Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) concentrated on
 guarantees in Eastern Europe. Analytic and advisory work
 helped inform government and private sector responses to the
 crisis. This report presents an initial real-time evaluation
 of the readiness, relevance, quality-at-entry, short-term
 results, and likely sustainability of the Bank Group
 response from the start of the crisis through fiscal 2010.
 This evaluation builds on a 2008 Independent Evaluation
 Group (IEG) assessment of Bank Group interventions during
 past crises and draws extensively on 11 country case studies
 and field visits. Given the short time since the crisis
 response started, the evaluation is geared more to raising
 flags than to presenting definitive conclusions.
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The World Bank Annual Report 2008The World Bank Group's work focuses
 on achievement of the eight Millennium Development Goals
 (MDGs). The goals call for eliminating poverty and achieving
 inclusive and sustainable globalization. The MDGs lay out a
 blueprint for the World Bank Group, setting its priorities
 and measuring its results. The World Bank is the
 world's largest funder of education; the world's
 largest external funder of the fight against HIV/AIDS; a
 leader in the fight against corruption worldwide; a strong
 supporter of debt relief; and the largest international
 financier of biodiversity, water supply, and sanitation
 projects. The recipients of the World Bank Group's
 fiscal 2008 financial commitments are using the funds in
 more than 670 projects, many of them collaborative efforts
 of two or more of the affiliates. The projects are designed
 to overcome poverty and enhance growth by improving
 education and health services, promoting private sector
 development, building infrastructure, and strengthening
 governance and institutions. They are practical plans to
 help developing countries move from poverty and become more
 competitive in a globalizing world. The Bank Group is also
 preparing a strategic framework on climate change and
 development - a plan for integrating climate change and
 development challenges without compromising growth and
 poverty reduction efforts. The framework will include
 priorities, approaches, and a road map for action in helping
 countries mitigate or adapt to climate change. In addition,
 the Bank Group has set a goal of scaling up its portfolio of
 investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency
 projects by an annual average of 20 percent through 2010.