Recommended articles: digital innovation & fintech

1. The Board of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recently approved the establishment of a BIS Innovation Hub to foster international collaboration on innovative financial technology within the central banking community. Read more.
2. Since fintech offers the chance to boost economic growth and expand financial inclusion in all countries, the IMF and World Bank surveyed central banks, finance ministries, and other relevant agencies in 189 countries on a range of topics and received 96 responses. Check the results on Five Facts on Fintech.
3. Unpicking the components of blockchain and their possible applications. Some features of blockchain may be unnecessary or even unhelpful, depending on the specific application (LSE Business Review).
4. Will Facebook’s Libra Bring Cryptocurrency into the Mainstream? Facebook wants Libra to become a global currency that could help the 1.7 billion ‘unbanked’ people get access to financial systems. Unsurprisingly, the announcement was met with calls for tough scrutiny from regulators and skepticism from technologists and the cryptocurrency community (Knowledge@Wharton).
5. Like it or not? Online platforms and productivity. While the innovative features of online platforms offer the potential to improve the performance of service sectors, they raise many new challenges for policymakers. Using Google search data on service industries in ten OECD countries, this column shows that platforms generally stimulate the productivity of incumbent service firms, but the impact crucially depends on the type of platform considered. Productivity gains tend to be lower when a platform is persistently dominant on its market, suggesting that the contestability of platform markets should be promoted in order to maximise their economic benefits (VOXEU).
   Finally, the BIS released its Annual Economic Report and its Annual Report. Check the Annual Economic Report 2019 chapter III. Big tech in finance: opportunities and risks.