Trade Liberalization, Capital Account Liberalization and the Real Effects of Financial Development

This paper provides evidence that international economic integration changes the real effect of domestic financial institutions. Using a cross-country panel we show that domestic financial development has a smaller effect on growth in countries that are open to trade and capital flows than among countries that are closed in both dimensions. We then use sectoral data to show that this decline in the importance of financial development can be explained by its irrelevance for tradable sectors in countries that are fully integrated to the world economy. In contrast to non-tradable sectors, for tradable sectors international economic integration seems to be a good substitute for domestic financial development. We also explore the consequences of these findings for the sequencing of reform.