The Banking System in Belarus

Having chosen a controversial path during itseconomic transition, Belarus achieved surprisinglyimpressive economic results, often referred to as the Belarusian puzzle , while the banking sector hasplayed a central role in the Belarusian economicmodel. The book fills the existing literature gap onthe transition of the Belarusian banking system andprovides an in-depth analysis of its evolution sincethe country achieved independence. It shows how therole assigned to the banking sector has determinedits development, how the initially unskillful anderroneous reform policies transformed into a morethoughtful, long-term strategy, and how the bankinglandscape evolved in response. Next, an empiricalstudy of bank efficiency in transition economies isconducted on the largest sample to date. The studycompares the efficiency levels between countries,ownership and size groups of banks over time, as wellas determines macroeconomic and bank-level factorshaving an influence on efficiency. The book should berelevant for academic circles, practitioners, andanyone else with an interest in the ongoing processof banking transition in formerly socialist countries.... Mehr