Explore the vast range of titles available.

Global Development Finance: External Debt of Developing Countries (GDF)—the World Bank’s annual report on debt financing of developing countries—includes comprehensive data for 128 countries that report under the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System, as well as summary data for regions and income groups. The GDF is available in print or electronically. The print edition includes an overview section focusing on trends in financial flows as well as trends in external debt for developing countries in 2008. It also highlights support from the World Bank Group to developing countries and the developments in debt restructuring in 2008. Together with this review of major financial developments in the previous year, you can find summary tables of regional and income group aggregates, and country tables. The electronic version contains the complete time-series database and is available as a CD-ROM or through an online subscription -- GDF Online.Data can be downloaded for further analysis from either the CD-ROM* or Online editions. Both include more than 200 historical time series from 1970 to 2008. The database covers external debt stocks and flows and their components, foreign direct investment, and equity flows along with key debt ratios, providing a detailed, country-by-country picture of the debt of developing countries.The mapping and charting functions included on both the CD-ROM and Online editions allow users to visualize the data and save images for use in other applications. These features plus data export options in standard formats like Excel make GDF the most comprehensive and detailed source of economic data on external debt and financial flows. Users of GDF Online may also choose their preferred language interface: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, or Chinese.In previous editions, Global Development Finance: External Debt of Developing Countries was published as Global Development Finance: Volume 2.

Utilizing a dataset of VC investment from 2005 to 2018, we investigate the relationship between air pollution and venture capital (VC) investment. We find that startups suffering severe air pollution receive less investment from VCs and experience a lower probability of financing from VCs. Our findings are robust to considering endogeneity concerns and various robustness checks. Moreover, air pollution is detrimental to startup innovation ability and entrepreneurial activities through which air pollution negatively affects VC investment. In response, VCs prefer to co-invest with other VCs to mitigate the adverse effect of air pollution. Our paper sheds new light on the impact of air pollution on the private financial markets.

Many economies have recently adopted the defined-contribution retirement financing system, but one disadvantage of this system is that retirees have to bear longevity risk. As a result, several economies have also introduced the public annuity plans. We analyze the similarities and differences between voluntary public annuity with ceiling (VPAc) plan and mandatory public annuity with flexibility (MPAf) plan that are empirically observed. Introducing either plan reduces the severity of adverse selection in public annuities, but further distorts the private annuity market. These two plans have systematically different effects on retirees’ utility levels: the good health group is adversely affected and the average health group benefits. On the other hand, the poor health group benefits from the VPAc plan but may be adversely affected under the MPAf plan.

The current shift moves the governance of animal welfare away from the government towards the private market and the consumers. We have studied the intentions, content, and on-farm inspection results from different sets of animal welfare legislation and private standards with an aim to highlight the most important opportunities and risks identified in relation to the trend of increasingly relying on private standards for safeguarding or improving farm animal welfare. Our results show that different focuses, intentions, animal welfare requirements, inspection methods (i.e., methods for measuring and evaluating the compliance with a regulation), and inspection results, together with the use of vague wordings and a drive towards more flexible regulations does certainly not facilitate the interpretation and implementation of animal welfare regulations, especially not in relation to each other. Since farmers today often have to comply with several animal welfare regulations, including private standards, it is important to stress that a given regulation should never be seen as a single, stand-alone phenomenon, and the policymakers must hence consider the bigger picture, and apply the standards in relation to other existing regulations. This is especially relevant in relation to the legislation, a level that a private standard can never ignore.

Foreign direct investment and private capital flows are highly concentrated geographically, with almost half of them reaching five top destinations. These flows tend to evade many high-risk countries. Regulatory and contractual risks, particularly in infrastructure, have inhibited investments in many parts of the developing world. A core objective of the World Bank Group (WBG) has been to support the flow of private investment for development; guarantees and insurance have been among the instruments that the WBG has used to pursue this objective. This study examines three main questions: • Should the WBG be in the guarantee business? • Have guarantee instruments in the three WBG institutions been used to their potential as reflected in WBG expectations and perceived demand? • Is the WBG appropriately organized to deliver its range of guarantee products in an effective and efficient manner?

This paper examines the performance of real estate firms that issue seasoned equity with the stated purpose of investing in private market assets. Prior literature documents that (i) firms, in general, underperform following a season equity offering and (ii) growth firms underperform value firms. We propose a stylized model where firms may arbitrage a public market premium relative to the private market by investing seasoned equity proceeds in the latter market. We hypothesize and test this \"public versus private market arbitrage\" hypothesis for an international sample of 531 listed property companies spanning 12 countries. Consistent with the predictions of our model, we find that growth firms, those with relatively higher public market values, outperform value firms only under the condition where the stated use of proceeds is for investment purposes as opposed to all other uses, i.e., not investment-related. Our empirical evidence is based on buy-and-hold abnormal returns, time-series portfolio regressions, and firm-level, cross-sectional analysis. Overall, our results are consistent with a value-added strategy of public versus private market arbitrage and highlight the key consideration in the related capital allocation decision.

Background Expanding access to long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) is difficult if one is limited to government and donor financial resources. Private commercial markets could play a larger role in the continuous distribution of LLINs by offering differentiated LLINs to middle-class Ghanaians. This population segment has disposable income and may be willing to pay for LLINs that meet their preferences. Measuring the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for LLINs with specialty features that appeal to middle-class Ghanaians could help malaria control programmes understand what is the potential for private markets to work alongside fully subsidized LLIN distribution channels to assist in spreading this commodity. Methods This study conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE) including a real payment choice among a representative sample of 628 middle-income households living in Ashanti, Greater Accra, and Western regions in Ghana. The DCE presented 18 paired combinations of LLIN features and various prices. Respondents indicated which LLIN of each pair they preferred and whether they would purchase it. To validate stated willingness-to-pay, each participant was given a cash payment of $14.30 (GHS 65) that they could either keep or immediately spend on one of the LLIN products. Results The households’ average probability of purchasing a LLIN with specialty features was 43.8% (S.D. 0.07) and WTP was $7.48 (GHS34.0). The preferred LLIN features were conical or rectangular one-point-hang shape, queen size, and zipper entry. The average WTP for a LLIN with all the preferred features was $18.48 (GHS 84). In a scenario with the private LLIN market, the public sector outlay could be reduced by 39% and private LLIN sales would generate $8.1 million ($311 per every 100 households) in revenue in the study area that would support jobs for Ghanaian retailers, distributors, and importers of LLINs. Conclusion Results support a scenario in which commercial markets for LLINs could play a significant role in improving access to LLINs for middle-income Ghanaians. Manufacturers interested could offer LLIN designs with features that are most highly valued among middle-income households in Ghana and maintain a retail price that could yield sufficient economic returns.

Startups in ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, have grown rapidly over the past five years. However, the current global economic uncertainty has created an imbalance that affects the budding startup ecosystem in ASEAN. A study used econometrics software and secondary data to understand how macroeconomic factors like GDP growth, country risk premium, and initial capital increases affect startup valuations in private markets in these six ASEAN member countries. Seventytwo sample data from deals between 2020 and 2022 were analyzed using various quantitative methods, such as panel data testing, T-test, and F-test. The findings indicate that the amount of money collected and the country's risk premium significantly affect startup valuations in these six member countries. However, GDP growth does not have a statistically significant effect. The F-Test shows that the Average Money Raised, the Country's Risk Premium, and GDP Growth all significantly affect startup valuations in the private markets of these six ASEAN member countries when analyzed simultaneously. The T-test reveals that the Average Money Raised is the most significant independent variable. Therefore, investors should continue fundraising, and the government should create a favorable business environment for startups and themselves. These findings could help stakeholders interested in technological investments to evaluate strategic investment in private markets in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It could also help academics analyze and understand \"Factors Influencing Startups Valuation in Private Markets\" and assist other researchers in further developing this study.

We examine the response of informed market participants to the informational signal of auditor changes. Using propensity score matching and difference-in-differences research designs, we document that loan spreads increase by 22 percent on bank loans initiated within a year after auditor changes, increasing direct loan costs by approximately $6.6 million. We also find a significant increase in upfront and annual fees and the probability of pledging collateral, consistent with an increase in screening and monitoring by banks. The increase in spreads is significant for client-initiated auditor changes, with or without disagreements with the auditor, as well as for auditor resignations. Further, the significant increase in loan spreads is documented for upward, lateral, and downward auditor changes. Our results are robust to other proxies for financial reporting quality. Finally, we find no effect resulting from the forced auditor changes due to Arthur Andersen. Collectively, these results suggest that voluntary auditor changes increase information risk, which is priced in private credit markets.