The joint World Bank-IFC Financial and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency focuses on three core areas: Creating the institutional foundations for effective markets (examples: property rights, collateral systems, corporate governance, financial market infrastructure) Promoting open and competitive markets (examples: opening up entry, access to finance for promising firms, deeper and more liquid financial markets, and exit for failing firms) Supporting social safety nets with market-based instruments (examples: financial market-based instruments and risk management for pensions and insurance systems as well as low income housing)

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This work contributes to:

• Job and wealth creation: Productive jobs tend to be created in private markets; competition tends to drive upgrading of skills and productivity growth, especially when backed by deeper and more liquid financial systems; in turn this raises real wages.
• Opportunity for all: Rules-based markets that allow entry of new firms promote success on the basis of rules, not on the basis of personal connections; this stimulates movement from the informal to the formal sector including access to finance for underserved small firms and households.
• Better governance: Better regulation reduces opportunities for corruption; wealth creation and entry of new parties into the market tend to create demand for better governance; corporate governance and anti-money laundering activities directly provide greater transparency and remedies against abuse.