Business finance in less developed economies cannot be analyzed or measured by the approaches utilized in countries, such as the United States and Great Britain, where stock markets can assess worth and channel capital with reasonable accuracy. Most economic theory dealing with business finance has been developed in precisely this latter environment. By bringing together economists from less developed countries with researchers from the United States and Western Europe, these essays break new ground by focusing on the unique problems of capital markets in the developing world. The problems of organizing securities markets and such capital market institutions as mutual funds are examined. The sources of financial capital and the interaction of state credit policies and the investment decisions and practices of the private sector are also analyzed. Together these essays provide developmental and business economists with provocative questions and will be of concern to all involved with economic growth in the less developed world.