SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

Moderated by Sergio A. Jellinek, External Affairs Manager of the World Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean

This event marks the launch of the 2011 Flagship Report of the World Bank LAC Chief Economist Office. The Report examines issues on the interaction between financial development and financial stability by revisiting the nature of different market imperfections and their interactions. It discusses the "bright" and "dark" sides of the process of financial development, and provides an assessment of the nature of, and the reasons behind, the region's gaps in financial development. The report also provides a rich discussion of the new, systemically-oriented regulatory reform agenda. It argues that market imperfections ultimately limit the extent to which markets can self-regulate, which puts a premium on good public policies and suggests a rebalancing of the roles of the financial markets and the state.