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A New Database on Financial Development and Structure
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Arecent and expanding literature establishes the importance of financial development for economic growth.1 Measures of the size of the banking sector and the size and liquidity of the stock market are highly correlated with subsequent GDP per capita growth. Moreover, emerging evidence suggests that both the level of banking sector development and stock market development exert a causal impact on economic growth.2 Recent financial crises in South East Asia and Latin America further underline the importance of a well-functioning financial sector for the whole economy.
This paper introduces a new database that for the first time allows financial analysts and researchers a comprehensive assessment of the development, structure and performance of the financial sector. This database provides statistics on the size, activity and efficiency of various financial intermediaries and markets across a broad spectrum of countries and through time. The database will thus enable financial analysts and researchers to compare the level of financial development and the structure of the financial sector of a specific country with that of other countries in the region or countries with a similar GDP per capita level. It allows comparisons of financial systems for a given year and over time.
Previously, financial analysts and researchers have relied on a few indicators of the banking sector and the stock market, using data from the IMF’s International Financial Statistics and the IFC’s Emerging Market Database. This new database draws on a wider array of sources and constructs indicators of the size, activity and efficiency of a much broader set of financial institutions and markets. Specifically, this database uses bank-specific data to construct indicators of the market structure and efficiency of commercial banks. Furthermore, this is the first systematic compilation of data on the split of public vs. private ownership in the banking sector. This database is the first attempt to define and construct indicators of the size and activity of nonbank financial intermediaries, such as insurance companies, pension funds, and non-deposit money banks. Finally, this database is the first to include indicators of the size of primary equity markets and primary and secondary bond markets. This results in a unique set of indicators that capture the development and structure of the financial sector across countries and over time along many different dimensions.
The World Bank - Organizational Body
1st Edtion
NONE
A New Database on Financial Development and Structure
Management
English
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank
1999
USA
1-33
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