The International Financial Crisis: Have the Rules of Finance Changed?
A two-day conference (September 24-25, 2009)  co-organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the World Bank brought together a distinguished list of academics, policymakers and practitioners to discuss the causes and consequences of the financial crisis.

Impact Assessments in Finance and Private Sector Development: What have we learned and what should we learn? (July 2009)
There are almost no rigorous evidence about which finance and private sector development policies work and which don’t, despite the large number of projects implemented each year. New work demonstrates impact evaluations are feasible and useful, and sets out an agenda for evaluation.

This new series summarizes findings and lessons from impact evaluations in the areas of finance and private sector development conducted by researchers in the Development Research Group.

• September 2009 - The results of a Pilot Financial Literacy and Business Planning Training Program for Women in Uganda
  (pdf version)
• October 2009 - The Economic Impact of Expanding Access to Finance in Mexico
  (pdf version)
  

More notes 

Financial Development and Structure database (updated: May 2009)
This is a new database of indicators of financial development and structure across countries and over time. This database is unique in that it unites a variety of indicators that measure the size, activity, and efficiency of financial intermediaries and markets.

"New Entrepreneurship Database"
The 2008 World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Survey (WBGES) continues to illustrate the importance of entrepreneurship for the dynamism of the modern economy. In its third year, the WBGES measures entrepreneurial activity in over 100 developing and industrial countries around the world over the eight year period 2000-2007. The WBGES provides empirical evidence that a good regulatory environment can increase entrepreneurial activity in developing countries.

Remittances and banking sector development, credit constraints in Mexico, long-term debt markets in emerging economies, hedge funds and the crisis, and much more ....Website 

Upcoming conference on "Entrepreneurship and Growth" will explore government regulations and reforms, private sector initiatives, and financial sector developments that affect the creation of new firms, the average size of firms, and the dynamism of incumbent firms on  November 19-20, 2009.  Agenda