Category: Finance

Nearly every country in the world has a central bank – a public institution that manages a country’s currency and its monetary policy. And these banks have an extraordinary amount of power. By controlling the flow of money and credit in a country, they can affect economic growth, inflation, employment and financial stability. These are […]

First impressions matter − they shape how we’re judged in mere seconds, research shows. People are quick to evaluate others’ competence, likability and honesty, often relying on superficial cues such as appearance or handshake strength. While these snap judgments can be flawed, they often have a lasting impact. In employment, first impressions not only affect […]

The Trump administration has recently revoked the visas of more than 1,300 foreign college students – detaining some – and launched immigration enforcement actions on college campuses across the country. This has raised concerns among the more than 1.1 million international students studying at U.S. universities. Headlines are filled with perspectives from immigration and civil […]

Providing cash transfers to low-income families can reduce child marriage rates among girls living in rural communities. That is what we found in a recent study looking at the impact of social assistance programs that gave money to families in Indonesia. In 2006, the government of Indonesia started to roll out the Program Keluarga Harapan, […]

As part of its drive to cut federal spending, the Trump administration has paused over US$500 million of funds that had previously flowed annually to food banks across the U.S. It’s not the only policy change that could make it harder than it already is for many Americans to get enough to eat. I’m a […]

Feeling tariff whiplash? You’re not alone. On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs – a 10% levy on nearly all U.S. imports, along with targeted duties aimed at punishing countries he accuses of exploiting American markets. Just a week later, on April 9, his administration abruptly paused much of the plan […]

The Trump administration is working to lift regulations on coal-fired power plants in the hopes of making its energy less expensive. But while cost is one important aspect, utilities have a lot more to consider when they choose their power sources. Different technologies play different roles in the power system. Some sources, like nuclear energy, […]

Social Security is one of the federal government’s biggest programs. Roughly 67 million Americans, most of whom are 65 or older, received Social Security benefits in 2023. An estimated 183 million workers paid the Social Security payroll taxes that provided the bulk of the nearly US$1.4 trillion in benefits that year, which consumed 21% of […]

Can loans to low-income customers be delivered fully digitally, with no people or paper involved, while still protecting customer interests and maintaining portfolio quality? Enter x-techs. A digital-first MFI built for scale Avanti Finance (a member of CGAP’s ABERA cohort) is a digital-first non-banking financial company that aims to make financial services affordable and accessible […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not a novel concept in finance; so, what is driving renewed interest in addressing regulatory gaps around the technology? A straightforward answer is that the rapid pace of AI developments requires both proactive and adaptive responses from multiple country authorities and intergovernmental bodies. Currently, there are global variations in the scope […]