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on Community banking and credit unions |
| By: | Karlan, Dean; Lambon-Quayefio, Monica; Manjeer, Utsav; Udry, Christopher |
| Abstract: | Digital finance in agriculture is a nascent technology which could help improve rural financial inclusion. In an experimental evaluation of a digital lending product for farmers in Southern Ghana, credit increases farm investments but has few statistically significant average effects on downstream outcomes. However, logistical challenges generated imperfect compliance with the treatment assignment, with some loans delivered in a timely fashion for agricultural investments and others coming later. We cautiously exploit this unplanned non-experimental implementation heterogeneity and conclude that agriculturally-focused digital credit platforms have potential to tackle persistent rural financial market imperfections, but the timing seems critical and deserves further study. |
| Keywords: | Ghana; Trade |
| JEL: | O12 O16 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21177 |
| By: | Brune, Lasse; Gine, Xavier; Karlan, Dean |
| Abstract: | Although microcredit has reached millions, recent randomized evaluations find limited average business impacts. Contract rigidity, specifically the fixed and frequent installments, may limit productive risk-taking and thus diminish impact on average profits but risk triggering moral hazard. We test this with a Colombian lender that experimentally compared, for a sample of new borrowers, rigid lending to a loan product that included three “passes†to push off a monthly payment to the future. The flexible loan did lead to some shifts in investment behavior but no average impact on revenue or profits level or variance, and did lead to higher default. |
| Keywords: | Microenterprise; Microfinance; Microcredit; lending contracts; Repayment flexibility; flexible lending; Moral hazard |
| JEL: | C93 D22 G21 G22 L25 O12 O16 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21180 |
| By: | Beckmann, Elisabeth; Weinel, Jette Leonie |
| Abstract: | We study the evolution of bank branch networks in ten CESEE countries between 2013 and 2021. Using a manually compiled dataset of all branches and their geocoordinates, we document a decline exceeding 30%, with substantial heterogeneity across and within countries. We show that banking market consolidation is a key driver of closures, while profitability and local economic growth mitigate them. Branches in highly urban or very rural areas close more often. Competitive effects are nonlinear: moderate clustering lowers closure risk, but intense competition increases it. These patterns differ markedly across CESEE banking systems during the entire period we analyze. JEL Classification: D53, G21, R12 |
| Keywords: | banks, consolidation, debranching, spatial distribution |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20263256 |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | As finance is being reshaped by a range of technological, regulatory and market developments, AI and open data-sharing are two particularly influential trends. However, dynamics of their intersection remain relatively understudied. This paper examines the interplay of AI innovation with data-sharing environments, highlighting mutually reinforcing benefits alongside increased complexity, trade-offs and amplified risks. It also explores a forward-looking theoretical scenario of agentic AI in an environment of growing data-sharing. The paper aims to support the responsible and scalable deployment of AI innovation within open finance ecosystems. |
| Date: | 2026–07–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:comaaa:61-en |
| By: | Bongers, Anelí; Canova, Fabio; Luintel, Kul; Torres, José Luis |
| Abstract: | We examine the macroeconomic implications of remittances in Nepal, a low-income country with a high remittance to GDP ratio and a significant trade deficit. Using a small open economy model with urban and rural households, segmented labor, incomplete financial markets, and subsistence consumption, we study exogenous and endogenous remittance variations, and remittance shocks affecting productivity. We analyze a policy forcing a share of remittance to go to capital investment. Remittances finance a trade deficit while maintaining a balanced current account. They increase income and consumption, but not necessarily domestic production. Policy implications are discussed. |
| JEL: | F22 F24 F41 E32 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21204 |
| By: | Tudorache, Maria-Daniela; Jianu, Ionut |
| Abstract: | Over the last two decades, technological progress has significantly transformed economic and social structures, making innovation and digitalization essential drivers of competitiveness and sustainable growth. However, EU still lags behind the US in terms of innovation, research and development expenditure. This paper examines the relationship between technological factors and economic development in European Union Member States. The analysis is based on panel data covering 2010-2024, with an effective estimation sample of 2012-2024 due to lag structure and first difference transformations to improve the model accuracy. The analysis applies the Panel Estimated Generalized Least Squares (EGLS) method, using Period SUR as GLS weights option and as a coefficient covariance method. The results identify positive and significant associations between the research and development expenditure / employment in technology and knowledge intensive sectors and GDP per capita. In contrast, unemployment shows a negative relationship with economic performance. These findings highlight the important role of innovation and knowledge-based sectors in supporting economic growth and competitiveness within the European Union. The results suggest that research and development activities are associated with higher levels of economic development across the European Union. This finding is particularly relevant in the current context, given that the European Union has consistently failed to meet its R&D expenditure targets throughout the 2010-2024 period, with the share of R&D expenditure in GDP increasing by only 0.25 percentage points over the last 15 years. We also calculated the impact of greenhouse gas emissions per capita on GDP per capita, which was found to be positive, indicating the short-run cost of the green transition, as well as the negative effect of the major COVID-19 restriction on GDP per capita. |
| Keywords: | technology, economic development, Panel, research and development |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esconf:341696 |