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Ralph De Haas

Director of Research


As the Bank’s Director of Research, Ralph manages a team of economists and analysts who research the economic transformation of the Bank’s countries of operation. His team also conduct rigorous evaluations, including randomized controlled trials, to assess how (much) EBRD investments contribute to economic development and environmental sustainability. Their research informs the operations, policies and strategy of the Bank and is prominently featured in the EBRD’s annual flagship publication, the Transition Report.

Ralph is also a part-time Professor of Finance at KU Leuven; a CEPR Research Fellow; a member of the CEPR’s Research and Policy Network on Sustainable Finance; a Fellow at the European Banking Center; and a Research Associate at the ZEW–Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research. He serves as an Associate Editor at the Journal of Banking & Finance.

Ralph completed his Ph.D. in Economics at Utrecht University and his research has been published in the Journal of Financial Economics; Review of Financial Studies; Management Science; Review of Finance; American Economic Journal: Applied Economics; Economic Journal; Journal of International Economics; Journal of the European Economic Association; Journal of Financial Intermediation; Journal of Economic Growth; Journal of Economic Geography and various other peer-reviewed outlets. In 2014, he received the Willem F. Duisenberg Fellowship Prize.

Ralph’s research lies at the intersection of empirical banking and development economics. He is particularly interested in firms’ and households’ access to financial services; the stability aspects of global banking; finance and green growth; and the role of gender in the economy.

Personal website (external website - opens in new window).

Research interests

International Banking

Empirical Finance

Financial Stability

Development Economics

Education

2006 - Ph.D. Economics, Utrecht University

1999 - M.Sc. Economics, Radboud University Nijmegen

Journal articles

S. Qi, R. De Haas, S. Ongena and S. Straetmans (2024), Move a little closer? Information sharing and the spatial clustering of bank branchesReview of Finance, forthcoming.

R. De Haas, R. Martin, M. Muûls and H. Schweiger (2024), Managerial and financial barriers to the green transitionManagement Science, forthcoming.

R. De Haas, L. Lu and S. Ongena (2023), Close competitors? Bilateral bank competition and spatial variation in firms’ access to creditJournal of Economic Geography, 23(6), 1237-1271.

R. De Haas and A. Popov (2023), Finance and Green GrowthEconomic Journal, 133(650), 637–668.

V. Baranov, R. De Haas and P. Grosjean (2023), Male-biased sex ratios and masculinity norms: Evidence from Australia’s colonial pastJournal of Economic Growth, forthcoming.

Brock, J.M. and R. De Haas (2023), Discriminatory lending: Evidence from bankers in the labAmerican Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 15(2), 31-68.

Aksoy, C.G., C.S. Carpenter, R. De Haas, M. Dolls and L. Windsteiger (2023), Reducing sexual-orientation discrimination: Experimental evidence from basic information treatmentsJournal of Policy Analysis and Management, 42(1), 35-59.

Crépon, B., R. De Haas, F. Devoto and W. Parrienté (2022), Microcredit made to measure. Experimental evidence from rural MoroccoJournal of Development Economics, Accepted pre-results review.

R. De Haas, M. Millone, and J. Bos (2021), Information sharing in a competitive microcredit marketJournal of Money, Credit, and Banking, 53(7), 1677-1717.

Bircan, C. and R. De Haas (2020), The limits of lending? Banks and technology adoption across RussiaReview of Financial Studies, 33(2), 536-609. Data

Aksoy C. G., C. S. Carpenter, R. De Haas and K. Tran (2020), Do laws shape attitudes? Evidence from same-sex relationship recognition policies in EuropeEuropean Economic Review, 124.

Baranov, V., R. De Haas and P. Grosjean (2020), Queens of the desert: Convictism and marital attitudes across AustraliaAEA Papers and Proceedings, 110: 457-462.

Attanasio, O., B. Augsburg and R. De Haas (2019), Microcredit contracts, risk diversification and loan take-up, Journal of the European Economic Association, 17(6), 1797-1842.

De Haas, R. and M. Millone (2019), The impact of information sharing on the use of collateral versus guaranteesWorld Bank Economic Review, 1-6.

De Haas, R. and S. Poelhekke (2019), Mining matters: natural resource extraction and firm-level constraintsJournal of International Economics, 117, 109-124.

Beck, T., H. Degryse, R. De Haas and N. van Horen (2018), When arms’ length is too far: relationship banking over the credit cycleJournal of Financial Economics, 127,174-196. Online Appendix

Brown, M., R. De Haas and V. Sokolov (2018), Regional inflation, banking integration and dollarizationReview of Finance, 22(6), 2073-2108.

De Haas, R., M. Djourelova and E. Nikolova (2016), The Great Recession and Social Preferences: Evidence from UkraineJournal of Comparative Economics, 44, 92-107.

Augsburg, B., R. De Haas, H. Harmgart and C. Meghir (2015), The Impacts of Microcredit: Evidence from Bosnia and HerzegovinaAmerican Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(1): 183–203.

Attanasio, O. B. Augsburg, R. De Haas, E. Fitzsimons and H. Harmgart (2015), The impacts of microfinance: Evidence from joint-liability lending in MongoliaAmerican Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(1): 90-122.

De Haas, R., Y. Korniyenko, A. Pivovarsky, and T. Tsankova (2015), “Taming the Herd? Foreign Banks, the Vienna Initiative and Crisis Transmission”Journal of Financial Intermediation, 24 (3), 325-355.

De Haas, R. and I. Van Lelyveld (2014), Multinational banks and the global financial crisis: Weathering the perfect storm?Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, 46(1), 333-364.

De Haas, R. and N. Van Horen (2013), Running for the exit? International bank lending during a financial crisisReview of Financial Studies, 26(1), 244-285.

De Haas, R. and N. Van Horen (2012), International Shock Transmission after the Lehman Brothers Collapse. Evidence from Syndicated LendingAmerican Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 102(3): 231–237.

Brown, M. and R. De Haas (2012), Foreign Currency Lending in Emerging Europe: Bank-level EvidenceEconomic Policy, 27(69), pp. 59-98.

De Haas, R. and I.P.P. van Lelyveld (2010), Internal capital market and lending by multinational bank subsidiariesJournal of Financial Intermediation, 19, pp. 1-25.

De Haas, R., D. Ferreira and A. Taci (2010), What determines the composition of banks' loan portfolios? Evidence from transition countriesJournal of Banking and Finance, 34, pp. 388-398.

De Haas, R. and I.P.P. van Lelyveld (2006), Foreign banks and credit stability in Central and Eastern Europe. A panel data analysisJournal of Banking and Finance, 30, pp.1927-1952.

Working papers

Startup Types and Macroeconomic Performance in Europe, EBRD Working Paper 269, joint with Vincent Sterk and Neeltje Van Horen.

State Ownership and Corporate Leverage Around the World, EBRD Working Paper 266, joint with Sergei Guriev and Alexander Stepanov.

The crisis as a wake-up call: Do banks tighten screening and monitoring during a financial crisis?, EBRD Working Paper 117, joint with Neeltje van Horen.

Policy writing, books and reports

De Haas R., D. Ferreira and T. Kirchmaier (2021), The inner workings of the board: evidence from emerging marketsEmerging Markets Review, 48.

“The Vienna Initiative: From Short-Term Impact to Long-Term Solutions”, 2019, with Peter Tabak, In: Ten Years of the Vienna Initiative, 2009-2019 (Chapter 9), pp. 145-160, EIB.

“Recent Trends in Cross-Border Banking in Europe”, 2017, with Neeltje van Horen, In: The Palgrave Handbook of European Banking (Chapter 18), Barbara Casu and Thorsten Beck (eds.), pp. 475-497, Palgrave.

“Global Banking: Old and New Lessons from Emerging Europe”, 2017, In: The Future of Large, Internationally Active Banks, Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, Douglas D Evanoff and George G Kaufman (eds.), Chapter 10, pp. 143-166, World Scientific Studies in International Economics Vol. 55, Singapore.

Aghion, P., R. De Haas, G. Friebel, S. Guriev and J. Luksic (2017), Introduction to the Special Issue on the Economics of the Middle East and North AfricaEconomics of Transition, 25(2), 141-148.

De Haas, R., B. Markovic and A. Plekhanov (2017), Reducing Non-Performing Loans in EuropeEuropean Economy. Banks, Regulation, and the Real Sector, 1, 107-116.

De Haas, R. (2014),  The Dark and the Bright Side of Global Banking: A (Somewhat) Cautionary Tale from Emerging Europe, Comparative Economic Studies 56, 271-282.

“Banking union: The view from emerging Europe”, 2012, with Erik Berglöf and Jeromin Zettelmeyer, In: Banking Union for Europe - Risks and Challenges, Thorsten Beck (ed.), Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), London.

“Foreign banks and financial stability: lessons from the Great Recession”, 2012, In: Financial Stability in Emerging Markets. Dealing with Global Liquidity, Ulrich Volz (ed.), German Development Institute, Bonn.

De Haas, R. and I.J. Naaborg (2006), Foreign banks in transition countries: to whom do they lend and how are they financed?Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, 15(4), pp. 159-199.

De Haas, R.T.A. and H.M.M. Peeters (2006), The dynamic adjustment towards target capital structures of firms in transition economiesEconomics of Transition, 14(1), pp. 133-169.

De Haas, R.T.A. (2004), Law, finance, and growth during transition: a surveyDe Economist, 152(3), pp. 1-28.