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Repayment flexibility and risk taking: Evidence from credit contract. Small firms in developing countries are commonly thought to be prevented from making profitable investments by lack of access to credit and insurance markets. This column uses evidence from an experiment in Bangladesh to show that repayment flexibility leads to substantial improvements in business outcomes and socioeconomic status, as well as lower default rates. The results are driven by an increase in entrepreneurial risk taking, suggesting that lack of insurance is an important constraint for small firms but that a simple financial product that increases repayment flexibility can be an effective tool for enabling growth ( VOX ). Risks to the Global Economy in 2019. Over the course of this year and next, the biggest economic risks will emerge in those areas where investors think recent patterns are unlikely to change. They will include a growth recession in China, a rise in global long-term real inte