Seeing Risk, Seizing Opportunity: How Perceived Political Instability Affects Firm Investment (with F. Osei-Tutu and C. Perrin, revisions requested)
Do elections shape firm dynamics? (with L. Weill, revisions requested)
Short-run supply elasticity of raw critial commodities: Evidence from mine-level data (with L. Jacolin, E. Mien and P. Vertier, submitted)
Loans, link and leadership: Political changes and borrowers discouragement in connected firms (with J. Bertrand and C. Perrin, submitted) [WP]
Main recent publications
Dramé, D. & Léon, F. (2025). Do firms react to monetary policy in developing countries? European Economic Review, 178, 105102 [Link / WP / Slides / Replication]
Léon, F. (2025). Blended Binds: How DFI's Support Programs Stifle Bank Lending in Africa, World Development, 191, 106998 [Link / WP / Slides]
Cazals, A. & Léon, F. (2023), Perception of political instability in election periods: Evidence from African firms, Journal of Comparative Economics, 51, 256-279 [Link / Appendix / Replication]
Léon, F. & Dosso, I. (2022), Civil conflict and firm recovery: Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire, Journal of Development Studies, 58(11), 2263-2289 [Link / Appendix]
Léon, F. (2022), The elusive quest for high-growth firms in Africa: When other metrics of performance say nothing. Small Business Economics, 58, 225-246 [Link / Appendix]
Baraton, P & Léon, F. (2021), Do banks and microfinance institution compete? Microevidence from Madagascar, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 69(3), 1031-1070 [Link / Appendix]
Other publications
Cariolle, J. & Léon, F. (2024). How internel helped firms to cope with COVID-19, Revue Economique, 75(4), 793-834 [WP / Link / Replication]
Duvivier, C., Bergé, L. & Léon, F. (2024). Le déploiement du très haut débit a-t-il favorisé la numérisation des entreprises? Une évaluation du plan France Très Haut Débit, Revue Economique, 75(2), 301-352 [Link]
Léon, F. (2024). L'investissement d'impact le développement financier en Afrique. Revue d'Economie Financière (invited paper), 156, 131-141 [Link]
Léon, F & Weill, L. (2024). Elections hinder firm's access to credit, Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, 32(1), 73-107 [Link / Replication]
Léon, F. (2023), Public bank lending in Africa in times of crisis, Emerging Markets Review, 55, 101032 [Link / Replication]
Lion, A., van Hoye, A., Delagardelle, A., Léon, F. & Vuillemin, A. (2023), Influence of elite sport on physical activity practice of the general population: A systematic review, Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 20(1), 77-93 [Link]
Cazals, A. & Léon, F. (2022), Elections: Facilitating or hindering business activity in Africa?, Revue d'Economie du Développement, 31, 163-168 [Link]
Bertinelli, L., Bourgain, A. & Léon, F. (2020), Corruption and tax compliance: Evidence from small retailers in Bamako, Applied Economics Letters, 27(5), 366-370 [Link / Replication]
Léon, F. (2020), The provision of long-term finance and firm growth. Economic Modelling, 90, 66-78, 2020 [Link / Appendix / Replication]
Léon, F. & Zins, A. (2020), Regional foreign banks and financial inclusion: Evidence from Africa, Economic Modelling, 84, 102-116 [Link / Appendix]
Guérineau, S. & Léon, F. (2019), Information sharing, credit booms, and financial stability: do developing countries differ from developed countries?, Journal of Financial Stability, 40, 64-76 [Link / Replication]
Fromentin, V. & Léon, F. (2019), Remittances and credit in developed and developing countries: A dynamic panel analysis, Research in International Business and Finance, 48, 310-320 [Link]
Léon, F. (2019), Long-term finance and entrepreneurship, Economic Systems, 43(2) [Link / Replication]
Léon, F. (2018), Convergence of credit structure around the world, Economic Modelling, 68, 306-317 [Link / Appendix / Replication]
Léon, F & Weill, L. (2018). Islamic banking development and access to credit (with L. Weill), Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 52, 54-69 [Link]
Léon, F. (2017), Implication of loan portfolio concentration in Cambodia, Economics Bulletin, 37(1), 282-296 [Link / Replication]
Léon, F. (2016), Does the expansion of regional cross-border banks affect competition in Africa? Indirest evidence, Research in International Business and Finance, 37, 66-77 [Link]
Léon, F. (2015), Does bank competition alleviate credit constraints in developing countries? Journal of Banking & Finance, 57, 130-142 [Link]
Books and chapters
La numérisation financière en Afrique subsaharienne: deux enjeux des services financiers numériques de deuxième génération (avec J. Cariolle). In Rapport annuel des coopérations monétaires Afrique-France - 2022, Banque de France, pp. 31-35, 2023.
Le rôle des banques publiques pour faire face aux chocs en Afrique. In Rapport annuel des coopérations monétaires Afrique-France - 2021, Banque de France, pp. 33-36, 2022.
Entreprises privées et gouvernance publiques en Afrique: difficultés et leviers d'actions (with P. Baraton and S. Fleury). In L'économie africaine 2021, Agence Française de Développement, Coll. Repères, La Découverte, Paris, 2021.
Thesis
Développement du secteur privé en Afrique: Contraintes financières et instabilité politique. Mémoire de HDR, Université Clermont-Auvergne - CERDI, 66p., 2023 [Lien]
Bank Competition in Africa: Three essays. PhD Thesis, Université Clermont-Auvergne - CERDI, 248p, 2014 [Link]
A selection of unpublished working papers (lit review, etc.)
Development Finance Institutions in Developing Countries: A Literature Review [Link]
Exploring the Financial Profiles of Public Development Banks: An Umbrella Paper (with J. Xu, R. Marodon, J-B. Jacouton, S. Rabary, W. Zhong), 2025 [Link]
Retombées du très haut débit sur les entreprises: Quels effets sur les performances des entreprises en France? (with L. Bergé and C. Duvivier), BSE Working Papers, BxWP2023-02 [Link]
Entrepreneurship, financial constraints and sectoral migrations (with P. Baraton). CREA Discussion Paper Series, 2016-09, 2016 [Link / Erratum]*
What do we know about the role of bank competition in Africa. CERDI Working Paper, 2015-06, 2015 [Link]
Measuring competition in banking: A critical review of methods. CERDI Working Paper, 2014-12, 2014 [Link]