Access to Financial Services : A Review of the Issues and Public Policy Objectives

This article reviews the evidence on the importance of finance for economic well-being. It provides data on the use of basic financial services by households and firms across a sample of countries, assesses the desirability of universal access, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Claessens, Stijn
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank 2013
Subjects:	ABSENCE OF CREDIT ACCESS BARRIERS ACCESS TO BANK ACCOUNTS ACCESS TO CREDIT ACCESS TO FINANCE ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES ACCESS TO FINANCING ACCESS TO INTERNATIONAL MARKETS ACCESS TO PAYMENTS ACCOUNT OWNERS ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AGRICULTURAL BANK BAD CREDIT BANK ACCESS BANK ACCOUNT BANK BRANCH BANK SERVICES BANKING CRISES BANKING RELATIONSHIP BANKING SERVICES BANKING SYSTEM BANKING SYSTEMS BANKS BARRIERS TO GROWTH BARTER BENEFITS OF ACCESS BORROWER BORROWING CAPITAL ADEQUACY CAPITAL MARKETS CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE COLLATERAL COMMERCIAL BANK COMMERCIAL BANKS COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT CONSUMER CREDIT CONSUMER FINANCE COOPERATIVES CREDIT ACCESS CREDIT ANALYSIS CREDIT ASSOCIATIONS CREDIT BUREAU CREDIT BUREAUS CREDIT CONSTRAINTS CREDIT EXTENSION CREDIT HISTORY CREDIT INFORMATION CREDIT INFORMATION BUREAUS CREDIT LINES CREDIT REQUIREMENTS CREDIT SCORING CREDIT UNION CREDIT UNIONS CREDITWORTHINESS CROP INSURANCE DEBT DEPOSIT DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS DEPOSITORS DEPOSITS DEVELOPMENT BANK DISCRIMINATION E-BANK E-FINANCE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIES OF SCALE ELECTRONIC DEPOSITS ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS ELECTRONIC TRANSFER ELECTRONIC TRANSFER ACCOUNT ELECTRONIC TRANSFER ACCOUNTS ELECTRONIC TRANSFERS EMPLOYERS ENTERPRISE CREDIT ENTREPRENEURS EQUITY FINANCE EXCHANGE RATE EXCLUSION EXPENDITURES EXTERNAL FINANCE EXTERNAL FINANCING FACILITATION FEDERAL BENEFITS FEDERAL RESERVE FINANCE COMPANIES FINANCES FINANCIAL DEPTH FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL EXCLUSION FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION FINANCIAL LITERACY FINANCIAL MARKETS FINANCIAL PRODUCTS FINANCIAL REFORM FINANCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL SERVICE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDERS FINANCIAL SYSTEM FINANCIAL SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL SYSTEMS FINANCING OBSTACLES FIXED COSTS FORMAL BANK FORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FORMAL FINANCIAL SERVICE FORMAL FINANCIAL SERVICES FORMS OF CREDIT GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS GREATER ACCESS GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES HIGH INTEREST RATES HOME OWNERSHIP HOUSEHOLDS HOUSING FINANCE ILLITERACY INCOME GROUPS INDEBTEDNESS INEQUALITY INFORMAL FINANCE INFORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE INFORMATION SHARING INFORMATION SYSTEMS INSTALLMENTS INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY INSURANCE SERVICES INTEREST RATE INTEREST RATES INTERNATIONAL BANK INTERNATIONAL FINANCE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES LACK OF ACCESS LENDER LENDERS LENDING REQUIREMENTS LITERACY REQUIREMENTS LOAN LOAN APPLICATIONS LOANABLE FUNDS MICROFINANCE MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS MINIMUM BALANCES MONEYLENDERS MORAL HAZARD MULTINATIONALS MUTUAL FUNDS NET WORTH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS OUTREACH OVERHEAD COSTS PAWNSHOPS PAYMENT SERVICES PAYMENTS SERVICES POOR BORROWERS POSTAL BANK POSTAL BANKS POSTAL SAVINGS PRIVATE CREDIT PRIVATE SAVINGS PRIVATIZATION PROFITABILITY PROFITABLE BANKING PROPERTY RIGHTS PROVISION OF ACCESS PROXIMITY BANKS PUBLIC BANKS PUBLIC POLICY RATES OF RETURN REAL ESTATE REMITTANCES REPAYMENT REPAYMENT CAPACITY RETAIL BANKS RISK MITIGATION SAVINGS SAVINGS ACCOUNT SAVINGS ACCOUNTS SAVINGS BANK SAVINGS BANK ACCOUNT SAVINGS BANKS SAVINGS PRODUCT SAVINGS SERVICES SECURITIES SMALL BANK SMALL BORROWERS SMALL BUSINESS SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SMALL BUSINESSES SMALL ENTERPRISES SMART CARDS SOCIAL COMMITMENT SOCIAL EXCLUSION SOCIAL SECURITY START-UP START-UP COSTS STOCK MARKET STOCK MARKETS TRADE CREDIT TRANSACTION COSTS UNIVERSAL ACCESS URBAN AREAS USURY USURY LAWS VOLATILE INCOME WORKING CAPITAL
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2006/08/17591351/access-financial-services-review-issues-public-policy-objectives http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16428

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Summary:	This article reviews the evidence on the importance of finance for economic well-being. It provides data on the use of basic financial services by households and firms across a sample of countries, assesses the desirability of universal access, and provides an overview of the macroeconomic, legal, and regulatory obstacles to access. Despite the benefits of finance, the data show that use of financial services is far from universal in many countries, especially developing countries. Universal access to financial services has not been a public policy objective in most countries and would likely be difficult to achieve. Countries can, however, facilitate access to financial services by strengthening institutional infrastructure, liberalizing markets and facilitating greater competition, and encouraging innovative use of know-how and technology. Government interventions to directly broaden access to finance, however, are costly and fraught with risks, among others the risk of missing the targeted groups. The article concludes with recommendations for global actions aimed at improving data on access and use and suggestions on areas of further analysis to identify constraints to broadening access.

Access to Financial Services : A Review of the Issues and Public Policy Objectives

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