Skip Navigation


The World Bank Research Observer Advance Access originally published online on August 2, 2006
The World Bank Research Observer 2006 21(2):207-240; doi:10.1093/wbro/lkl004
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
21/2/207    most recent
lkl004v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Claessens, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Related Collections
Right arrow P34 - Financial Economics
Right arrow O16 - Economic Development: Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
Right arrow G20 - General
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / THE WORLD BANK. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

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

Stijn Claessens

Stijn Claessens is a senior adviser in the Operations and Policy Department, Financial Sector Vice Presidency, at the World Bank. The author can be reached via e-mail at sclaessens{at}worldbank.org.

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.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 WORLD BANK ECON REVHome page
U. O. Osili and A. Paulson
What Can We Learn about Financial Access from U.S. Immigrants? The Role of Country of Origin Institutions and Immigrant Beliefs
World Bank Econ. Rev., November 20, 2008; (2008) lhn019v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 WORLD BANK ECON REVHome page
T. Beck, A. Demirguc-Kunt, and M. S. Martinez Peria
Banking Services for Everyone? Barriers to Bank Access and Use around the World
World Bank Econ. Rev., November 7, 2008; (2008) lhn020v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.