Informal Firms and Financial Inclusion: Cross-country and Experimental Evidence Date: Wednesday, June 26, 2013, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Venue: MC 7-100 Presenters: Subika Farazi (Core Team Member, 2014 Global Financial Development Report, World Bank) Francisco Campos (Economist, FPD Africa Region, World Bank) Discussant: Wendy Teleki (Principal Operations Officer, Global Industry, Financial Markets, World Bank) Chair: Asli Demirgüç-Kunt (Director of Research, World Bank) Many firms in the developing world—including a majority of micro, small and medium enterprises—operate in the informal economy. The informal firms face a variety of constraints, making it harder for them to do business and grow. Lack of access to finance is often cited as the biggest operational constraint these firms face. Understanding the relationship between formality and financial inclusion is critical for designing effective policies. Using cross-country data, Subika Farazi will analyze statistics on the use of finance by informal firms, identify characteristics of informal firms that are associated with higher use of finance, and compare the use of finance by firms in the formal and informal sector. Francisco Campos will complement this by presenting preliminary findings from an ongoing study on the importance of formalization for financial inclusion in Malawi. Subika Farazi is a member of the core team working on the 2014 Global Financial Development Report. Prior to joining the team, she worked with the Middle East and North Africa FPD, co-authoring a report on finance in the region. Francisco Campos is an Economist in the Africa FPD. His research interests include entrepreneurship, skills development, informality, financial inclusion, and gender. He has worked for the Gender Innovation Lab in the Africa region and has extensive experience in private and public sectors including on SME development, finance, and investment promotion. Wendy Teleki is a principal program officer in the IFC’s Global Financial Markets Department. She heads the Global SME Finance Facility investment component and is the focal point for IFC’s SME & Jobs Committee. She was the coordinator for the SME Capacity Building Facility and was responsible for launching IFC’s Advisory Service program in Indonesia. For information on the Global Financial Development Report, the related work program, and materials from previous seminars, see worldbank.org/financialdevelopment. Ideas for future seminars? Please contact [email protected]. For call-in information, please contact [email protected].
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:54:37 +0000
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