Postal savings systems in Asian developing countries play a significant role in social and economic development. In many of these countries, and others around the world, postal savings and giro remittances are the only means of providing financial services to all segments of the population, particularly women, rural communities, and the urban poor. Postal savings in many countries also hold the largest share of individual and household savings among competing institutions. This book examines the postal financial systems of some twenty countries visited by the author, and also includes case studies by expert authors from different developing nations. Among the topics covered are savings product development, investing mobilized funds, receiving overseas remittances, and utilizing financial technology.

Postal savings systems in Asian developing countries play a significant role in social and economic development. In many of these countries, and others around the world, postal savings and giro remittances are the only means of providing financial services to all segments of the population, particularly women, rural communities, and the urban poor. Postal savings in many countries also hold the largest share of individual and household savings among competing institutions. This book examines the postal financial systems of some twenty countries visited by the author, and also includes case studies by expert authors from different developing nations. Among the topics covered are savings product development, investing mobilized funds, receiving overseas remittances, and utilizing financial technology.

Rapid economic growth in Asia has gone hand in hand with increased savings. Yet, many people remain unbanked and savings are often invested abroad. If Asia is to continue to grow, governments must explore ways to better mobilize domestic finance and increase financial access. One way is through postal savings. This book (i) explains the benefits of postal savings, (ii) presents strategies ranging from a simple model of postal savings to full-fledged banking services, (iii) assesses national regulations, (iv) studies the challenges and opportunities arising from new technologies such as fintech, and (v) recommends ways to promote postal savings in developing Asia. technologies such as fintech, and (v) recommends ways to promote postal savings in developing Asia.

We use loan-level data on syndicated lending to a large sample of developing countries between 1993 and 2017 to estimate the mobilization effects of multilateral development banks (MDBs), controlling for a large set of fixed effects. We find evidence of positive and significant direct and indirect mobilization effects of multilateral lending on the number of deals and on the total size of bank inflows. The number of lending banks and the average maturity of syndicated loans also increase after MDB lending. These effects are present not only on impact, but they last up to three years and are not offset by a decline in bond financing. There is no evidence of anticipation effects and the results are not driven by confounding factors, such as the presence of large global banks, Chinese lending and aid flows. Finally, the economic effects are sizable, suggesting that MBDs can play a vital role to mobilize private sector financing to achieve the goals of the 2030 Development Agenda.

While the world's attention has been focused on the spectacular economic success of Japan and Korea, the less developed countries of Asia have often been neglected. Asian Development closes the gap. In nontechnical style and with minimal mathematics, it presents an in-depth perspective on the economic development of fourteen countries in East, Southeast, and South Asia. Asian Development is mainly a story of success. Though some problems remain, Asian countries have shown remarkable resilience in responding to sharp changes in the international economy--oil shocks, world recession and inflation, exchange-rate and interest-rate fluctuations, and rapid technological change. The authors conclude that their ability to adjust to changing external conditions is closely related to intelligent governmental policies. Looking back they comment: "In the past, growth of the United States and Japan pulled up the growth rates of the smaller economies in the region." Looking forward, they predict: "In the future, increasingly it will be the growth of the Asian developing countries that acts as a catalyst to growth in the more advanced economies."

Abstract: The first part of this paper reviews the literature on the relation between finance and growth. The second part of the paper reviews the literature on the historical and policy determinants of financial development. Governments play a central role in shaping the operation of financial systems and the degree to which large segments of the financial system have access to financial services. The paper discusses the relationship between financial sector policies and economic development.

This study examines major challenges and issues associated with developing regional infrastructure through the fostering of regional cooperation in Asia, and provides a framework for pan-Asian infrastructure cooperation. The study's long-term vision is the creation of a seamless Asia (an integrated region connected by world-class, environmentally friendly infrastructure) in terms of both "hard" (physical) and "soft" (facilitating) infrastructure. The soft part supports the development and operation of the hard component. Findings indicate that the benefits of upgrading and extending Asia's infrastructure networks are substantial, and that all countries in the region would benefit. A logistics network is only as good as its weakest link; each country in a regional supply chain gains from infrastructure improvements made in others. Improving connectivity in the region would bring Asia large welfare gains through increased market access, reduced trade costs, and more efficient energy production and use. According to the study, to achieve this Asia needs to invest approximately $8 trillion in overall national infrastructure between 2010 and 2020. In addition, Asia needs to spend approximately $290 billion on specific regional infrastructure projects in transport and energy that are already in the pipeline