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71. Introduction to the Round Table on Building a Modern and Robust Banking System: Poland’s Experience after 1989

Author:
Stefan Kawalec
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:
Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:
Poland was the first country of the Soviet bloc in which a non-communist government was created following the period of the cold war. This was the government of Tadeusz Mazowiecki called into being on September 12, 1989. The government announced imme- diately that the economic system would be changed. The government did not propose a third way. It said that a market economy would be introduced, based on private ownership with a freely exchangeable currency. After this transformation of the socialist economy into a capitalist economy was announced, the government acted very quickly to realize this goal. The change of the economic system entailed a great undertaking, consisting of the creation of a banking system adapted to the needs of a market economy. In the socialist economy, there was no money in the true sense of the word. Money served only a certain limited purpose related to the distribution of consumer goods, but not for all such goods. A significant portion of consumer goods were distributed through the use of ration cards, special coupons or through informal channels such as sales made under the counter. En- terprises had their inputs and outputs rationed. The simple fact that an enterprise had złotys on its account did not give the enterprise the right to buy the necessary goods, if the rights to obtain such goods were not included in the appropriate distribution list. Having złotys was also insufficient for purchasing goods from abroad. For that one needed foreign currency -- which also was rationed in accordance with the distribution lists.
Topic:
Communism, Democracy, Finance, and Banking
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Poland

72. The EU’s Financial Architecture for External Investment: Progress, Challenges, and Options

Author:
Hannah Timmis and Mikaela Gavas
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
In 2017, the EU launched an ambitious programme of investment mobilisation in Africa and the Neighbourhood: the External Investment Plan (EIP). The EIP aims to increase the scale, impact, and coherence of EU-supported external investment by introducing various innovations to the European financial architecture, including a new guarantee mechanism and a unique “three-pillar” approach to investment support. The European Commission is proposing a significant expansion of the EIP under the EU’s new long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021–27, replacing the current plethora of investment tools and modalities with a single framework. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the EU’s complex external investment architecture. Based on interviews with stakeholders, it documents lessons learned during the EIP’s first year of implementation and proposes a series of options for the design and operationalisation of the new investment framework. To increase the additionality, development effectiveness, and efficiency of EU-supported external investment, it recommends that the European Commission improve the current architecture by providing greater policy steer to investors; increasing competition among institutions for investment support; clarifying linkages between the three pillars; setting clear guidance, fee structures, and standardised contractual terms; and strengthening management of investment tools.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, European Union, Finance, and Investment
Political Geography:
Europe

73. The EU’s Financial Architecture for External Investment: Progress, Challenges, and Options

Author:
Hannah Timmis and Mikaela Gavas
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
In 2017, the EU launched an ambitious programme of investment mobilisation in Africa and the Neighbourhood: the External Investment Plan (EIP). The EIP aims to increase the scale, impact, and coherence of EU-supported external investment by introducing various innovations to the European financial architecture, including a new guarantee mechanism and a unique “three-pillar” approach to investment support. The European Commission is proposing a significant expansion of the EIP under the EU’s new long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021–27, replacing the current plethora of investment tools and modalities with a single framework. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the EU’s complex external investment architecture. Based on interviews with stakeholders, it documents lessons learned during the EIP’s first year of implementation and proposes a series of options for the design and operationalisation of the new investment framework. To increase the additionality, development effectiveness, and efficiency of EU-supported external investment, it recommends that the European Commission improve the current architecture by providing greater policy steer to investors; increasing competition among institutions for investment support; clarifying linkages between the three pillars; setting clear guidance, fee structures, and standardised contractual terms; and strengthening management of investment tools.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, European Union, Finance, and Investment
Political Geography:
Europe

74. Midline Effects of a Randomized Controlled Trial to Increase the Utilization of Financial Services by Women Business Owners in Rural Indonesia

Author:
James C. Knowles
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
This is the report of a midline evaluation of a randomized controlled trial to increase the utilization of saving and other financial services by women business owners in Indonesia. The trial was motivated by a recent law in Indonesia supporting the development of branchless banking services for a large unbanked rural population and by the results of several studies suggesting that it is possible to stimulate savings and improve a range of downstream outcomes with suitable interventions targeted to under-banked rural populations. The trial was conducted in 400 purposively selected rural and semi-urban villages in five districts of East Java province in which branchless banking services (including basic savings accounts accessible through mobile phones) were available. The randomized interventions supported by this trial include both supply-side treatments (higher agent incentives) and demand-side treatments (training and mentoring of female business owners). The data analyzed include both baseline and midline survey data on female and male business owners and branchless banking agents. Implementation of the trial was delayed due to difficulties in recruiting suitable agents in all 400 trial villages. Numerous supply-side problems, both technical and logistical, were also reported in the monitoring data. However, the midline results indicate that the interventions were successfully delivered, resulting in significant positive effects on key intermediate outcomes, including knowledge and use of mobile banking services and initial take up of a mobile basic savings account. Downstream effects indicate that the supply- and demand-side interventions, particularly in combination, increased women business owners’ savings, empowerment, self-confidence, and economic welfare.
Topic:
Women, Finance, Rural, and Financial Services
Political Geography:
Indonesia and Indo-Pacific

75. Financing social investment for an economy of well-being: Moving from good practices to a paradigm shift

Author:
Claire Dhéret and Marta Pilati
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Policy Centre
Abstract:
Growing socio-economic disparities in the EU, both within and between member states, pose a serious threat to the Union’s social model, political viability, and its economic strength. In the absence of adequate levels of public investment, and with the added pressures of an ageing population and societal changes, Claire Dhéret and Marta Pilati make the case for a paradigm shift in the financing of social investment. The latter is based on the idea that investing in human and social capital enhances individuals’ capabilities and enables them to successfully participate in society and the economy, resulting in a more skilled, resilient and healthy workforce. But where will the money come from? In this Policy Brief, Dhéret and Pilati investigate the unlocked potential of EU financial instruments in fostering social investment, and the unique opportunity provided by the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027) and the InvestEU programme. Although the Commission’s efforts have been commendable so far, they argue for additional EU measures to ensure the creation of a genuine market for the social economy, which will not only help re-invigorate Europe’s social model but also make it a global champion for an ‘economy of well-being’. The EU can do this by: (1) ensuring that financial regulation is not an obstacle to social investment; (2) supporting social innovation throughout the entire social policy production chain; and (3) integrating national social investment strategies into the larger European policy framework.
Topic:
European Union, Finance, Economy, Investment, and Innovation
Political Geography:
Europe

76. Does the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Help or Hinder Financial Inclusion? A Study of FATF Mutual Evaluation Reports

Author:
Michael Pisa
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
As the organization responsible for setting international standards on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has encouraged countries to design measures that protect the integrity of the financial system and support financial inclusion. But it has also received criticism that poor implementation of its standards can undermine financial access. One of the FATF’s main tools for compelling effective use of its standards is the mutual evaluation process, which relies on peer reviews to assess countries’ level of compliance with the FATF Recommendations. We explore whether these reviews have been conducted in a way that helps or hinders national efforts to promote financial inclusion by reviewing the 33 developing country mutual evaluations that took place between 2015-2018. Overall, these findings suggest that assessment teams have conducted mutual evaluations in a way that supports efforts to promote financial inclusion and the flexible use of simplified measures. There is, however, inconsistency in how assessors treat risks emanating from financial exclusion, which suggests the need for a more systematic approach to evaluating these risks.
Topic:
Development, Terrorism, Finance, and Financial Integrity
Political Geography:
Global Focus

77. Public Financial Management and the Digitalization of Payments

Author:
Marco Cangiano, Alan Gelb, and Ruth Goodwin-Groen
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The ability of digital payments to deliver better outcomes for governments, businesses, and individuals—including driving financial inclusion—has been one of the success stories of the digital age. Payments are central to how governments transfer and receive financial resources; however, the way such payments are made—and how they could be made more effectively—is often not mainstreamed in public financial management (PFM) despite the fact that many of the direct benefits from effective digitalization of payments are identitical to those traditionally expected from strong PFM systems.The digitalization of payments does not provide a silver bullet for solving PFM problems; therefore it needs to be approached in an integrated way, with strong leadership from central agencies, including the Ministry of Finance, to exploit the synergies between the many different types of payments facilitated by digital technology. The paper explores the linkages between the digitalization of payments and PFM, including through four case studies.
Topic:
Finance, Digitalization, and Financial Management
Political Geography:
Global Focus

78. The Great Convergence: Toward a Global Strategy for Financial Inclusion

Author:
Timothy Ogden
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
Tim Ogden, Managing Director of NYU-Wagner’s Financial Access Initiative and Aspen FSP Senior Fellow, contextualizes financial inclusion – once thought of as a solution only for the developing world – as one highly relevant in the US context. In July, Ogden shared an abbreviated version of his remarks at the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor’s (CGAP) private meeting on updating financial inclusion’s collective narrative to include evolving thinking and impact. You can learn more about CGAP’s work here. This piece dives deeper into Ogden’s observations about the shared challenges and areas of growth within the landscape of global inclusion. It also proposes the need for a global financial inclusion strategy. Read Ogden’s piece, The Great Convergence to learn how financial inclusion efforts around the world are growing more relevant to the structural policies developed in the US, and vice versa.
Topic:
Globalization, Finance, Socioeconomics, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

79. The Time is Now: Next Steps Toward a More Secure Retirement for All Americans

Author:
Aspen Institute
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
Even after a decade of economic growth, the retirement outlook for many Americans remains precarious at best. By one estimate, half of working-age Americans are at risk of not being able to maintain their standard of living when—or if—they stop working. Spurred by this reality, the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program convened its third annual Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings in April. More than 70 experts and industry leaders gathered in Warrenton, Va., to share, evaluate, and refine solutions to the nation’s retirement crisis.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Employment, Finance, Family, and Retirement
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

80. Updating the DFIs’ Operating Models and Methods Towards Helping to Achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Author:
Franque Grimard and Christian Novak
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Development financial institutions, especially their private sector windows, must play a more effective role in contributing to achieve the 2030 Agenda. In order to achieve such higher needed effectiveness, DFIs must update their operating models and methods, and the most recently launched DFIs, like FinDev Canada, must widely adopt a modernized approach towards development financing. In this regard, we recommend that DFIs: • Increase mobilization volumes of private capital. • Widen the offering of financial products and structures with high financial additionality. • Maximize their investment potential. We believe that the implementation of the specific recommendations presented in this Policy Brief would significantly contribute to the necessary actions to achieve the 2030 Agenda. However, accomplishing the SDGs is not only dependent on the adaptation of DFIs, but also on complementary effective actions from countries, the international financial system and the private sector, in addition to collaboration among all stakeholders.
Topic:
Development, United Nations, Finance, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:
Global Focus