Little Data Book on Financial Development 2013 (Global Financial Development Report)

The Little Data Book on Financial Development 2013 is a pocket edition of the Global Financial Development Database, published as part of the work on the Global Financial Development Report 2013: Rethinking the Role of the State in Finance. It contains 38 indicators of financial development in 205 economies, including measures of (1) financial depth, (2) access, (3) efficiency, and (4) stability of financial institutions and markets. Additional variables, historical observations, and links to underlying research.
A basic comparison of data confirms that while financial systems in developing economies tend to be less deep, provide less access, and are somewhat less effi cient, their stability has been comparable to fi nancial systems in developed countries in recent years. For instance, the average depth of financial institutions’ (measured as Private Credit to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) and markets (measured as Stock Market Capitalization plus Outstanding Domestic Private Debt Securities to GDP) in developed economies is more than twice of that in developing economies. However in terms of stability of financial institutions (measured by the Z-score), on average, the banking systems in developing economies are less volatile than in developed economies. The level of stability of fi nancial markets (measured as the asset price volatility) is similar, on average, for both developed and developing economies.