IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/compes/v53y2011i3p475-488.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Evolution of the Finance Growth Nexus

Author

Listed:
  • Paul Wachtel

    (Stern School of Business, New York University, 44 West 4th Street, New York, NY 10012, USA.)

Abstract

The role of the financial sector in economic growth received scant attention from economists until very recently. An explosion of research in the last 20 years has firmly entrenched the finance growth nexus in the canon of economic beliefs. This paper suggests that the literature might have over emphasised the strength of the nexus that is much more nuanced than often suggested. The most commonly used measure of financial sector development, financial depth, is difficult to interpret because it can be a reflection of economy wide leverage as well as the quality and quantity of intermediation. Our examination of experience with financial deepening and of other measures of financial activity such as value added does not suggest that finance is unimportant. Instead, it shows how difficult it is to measure financial sector activity adequately.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Wachtel, 2011. "The Evolution of the Finance Growth Nexus," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 53(3), pages 475-488, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:compes:v:53:y:2011:i:3:p:475-488
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ces/journal/v53/n3/pdf/ces201116a.pdf
    File Function: Link to full text PDF
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ces/journal/v53/n3/full/ces201116a.html
    File Function: Link to full text HTML
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter L. Rousseau & Paul Wachtel, 2011. "What Is Happening To The Impact Of Financial Deepening On Economic Growth?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(1), pages 276-288, January.
    2. Martin Neil Baily & Robert J. Gordon, 1988. "The Productivity Slowdown, Measurement Issues, and the Explosion of Computer Power," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 19(2), pages 347-432.
    3. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 407-443.
    4. John Page, 1994. "The East Asian Miracle: Four Lessons for Development Policy," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1994, Volume 9, pages 219-282, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Rousseau, Peter L & Wachtel, Paul, 1998. "Financial Intermediation and Economic Performance: Historical Evidence from Five Industrialized Countries," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 30(4), pages 657-678, November.
    6. Robert G. King & Ross Levine, 1993. "Finance and Growth: Schumpeter Might Be Right," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 717-737.
    7. Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2008. "Finance, Financial Sector Policies, and Long-Run Growth," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28021, December.
    8. Ross Levine, 1997. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: Views and Agenda," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 688-726, June.
    9. Steven Radelet & Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1998. "The East Asian Financial Crisis: Diagnosis, Remedies, Prospects," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 29(1), pages 1-90.
    10. Levine, Ross, 2005. "Finance and Growth: Theory and Evidence," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 12, pages 865-934, Elsevier.
    11. Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), 2005. "Handbook of Economic Growth," Handbook of Economic Growth, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1.
    12. Wachtel, Paul, 2001. "Growth and Finance: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(3), pages 335-362, Winter.
    13. Carmen M. Reinhart & Vincent Reinhart, 2010. "After the fall," Proceedings - Economic Policy Symposium - Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 17-60.
    14. Kraft, Evan & Jankov, Ljubinko, 2005. "Does speed kill? Lending booms and their consequences in Croatia," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 105-121, January.
    15. Paul Wachtel, 2001. "Growth and Finance: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(3), pages 335-362.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. repec:dgr:rugsom:14016-gem is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Katrin Peters & Monika Schnitzer, 2015. "Trade liberalization and credit constraints: Why opening up may fail to promote convergence," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 48(3), pages 1099-1119, August.
    3. Takashi FUKUDA, 2020. "Finance-Growth Nexus and Globalization in Brazil, India, Philippines, Thailand, and Turkey: Evidence from VECM Cointegration Analysis," Journal of Economics and Financial Analysis, Tripal Publishing House, vol. 4(1), pages 55-77.
    4. Thorsten Beck, 2013. "Finance, growth and fragility: the role of government," International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(1/2), pages 49-77.
    5. Emmanuel Carré & Guillaume L’œillet, 2018. "The Literature on the Finance–Growth Nexus in the Aftermath of the Financial Crisis: A Review," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 60(1), pages 161-180, March.
    6. Peter L. Rousseau & Paul Wachtel, 2015. "Episodes of Financial Deepening: Credit Booms or Growth Generators?," Working Papers 15-09, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics.
    7. Hasan, Iftekhar & Song, Liang & Wachtel, Paul, 2014. "Institutional development and stock price synchronicity: Evidence from China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 92-108.
    8. Dirk Bezemer & Maria Grydaki & Lu Zhang, 2016. "More Mortgages, Lower Growth?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(1), pages 652-674, January.
    9. Emmanuel Carré & Guillaume L’Œillet, 2017. "Une revue de la littérature récente sur le nexus finance-croissance après la crise : apports, limites et pistes de recherche," Revue d'économie financière, Association d'économie financière, vol. 0(3), pages 271-290.
    10. Peter Haiss & Hannes Juvan & Bernhard Mahlberg, 2016. "The Impact of Financial Crises on the Finance–Growth Relationship: A European Perspective," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 45(3), pages 423-444, November.
    11. Fukuda, Takashi, 2015. "Evidence of Korea’s Finance-Growth Nexus: VARX Analysis with Financial Crisis and Openness," MPRA Paper 98787, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Alexey Simanovskiy & Alexander Morozov & Andrey Sinyakov & Alexey Porshakov & Maria Pomelnikova & Yulia Ushakova & Vladimir Markelov & Mikhail Bezdudniy, 2018. "The 2008–2017 Decade in the Russian Banking Sector: Trends and Factors," Bank of Russia Working Paper Series wps31, Bank of Russia.
    13. James R. Brown & Gustav Martinsson & Bruce C. Petersen, 2013. "Law, Stock Markets, and Innovation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(4), pages 1517-1549, August.
    14. Takashi Fukuda, 2016. "South Korea’s finance--growth nexus: evidence from VARX analysis with financial crisis and openness," Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 18-33, March.
    15. Safwat Alaa & Salah Ashraf & Elsherif Marwa, 2021. "The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on the Economic Growth of Egypt (1980-2018)," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 11(5), pages 74-85.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paul Wachtel, 2018. "Credit Deepening: Precursor to Growth or Crisis?," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 60(1), pages 34-43, March.
    2. Smaoui, Houcem & Nechi, Salem, 2017. "Does sukuk market development spur economic growth?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 136-147.
    3. Peter L. Rousseau & Paul Wachtel, 2015. "Episodes of Financial Deepening: Credit Booms or Growth Generators?," Working Papers 15-09, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics.
    4. Boubaker, Sabri & Nguyen, Duc Khuong & Piljak, Vanja & Savvides, Andreas, 2019. "Financial development, government bond returns, and stability: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 81-96.
    5. Rousseau, Peter L. & Wachtel, Paul, 2002. "Inflation thresholds and the finance-growth nexus," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 777-793, November.
    6. Fink, Gerhard & Haiss, Peter & Vuksic, Goran, 2009. "Contribution of financial market segments at different stages of development: Transition, cohesion and mature economies compared," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 431-455, December.
    7. Peter L. Rousseau & Paul Wachtel, 2011. "What Is Happening To The Impact Of Financial Deepening On Economic Growth?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(1), pages 276-288, January.
    8. Joshua Cave & Kausik Chaudhuri & Subal C. Kumbhakar, 2020. "Do banking sector and stock market development matter for economic growth?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1513-1535, October.
    9. Papaioannou, Elias, 2007. "Finance and growth: a macroeconomic assessment of the evidence from a European angle," Working Paper Series 787, European Central Bank.
    10. Samargandi, Nahla & Fidrmuc, Jan & Ghosh, Sugata, 2015. "Is the Relationship Between Financial Development and Economic Growth Monotonic? Evidence from a Sample of Middle-Income Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 66-81.
    11. Christian Lambert Nguena, 2019. "Working Paper 323- Mobile Financial and Banking Services Development in Africa," Working Paper Series 2449, African Development Bank.
    12. Guglielmo Maria Caporale & Stefano Di Colli & Roberto Di Salvo & Juan Sergio Lopez, 2016. "Local banking and local economic growth in Italy: some panel evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(28), pages 2665-2674, June.
    13. Ahlin, Christian & Pang, Jiaren, 2008. "Are financial development and corruption control substitutes in promoting growth?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 414-433, June.
    14. Allegret, Jean-Pierre & Couharde, Cécile & Coulibaly, Dramane & Mignon, Valérie, 2014. "Current accounts and oil price fluctuations in oil-exporting countries: The role of financial development," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 185-201.
    15. Marc Steffen Rapp & Iuliia A. Udoieva, 2018. "What matters in the finance–growth nexus of advanced economies? Evidence from OECD countries," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(6), pages 676-690, February.
    16. James B. Ang, 2008. "A Survey Of Recent Developments In The Literature Of Finance And Growth," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 536-576, July.
    17. Bofinger, Peter & Geißendörfer, Lisa & Haas, Thomas & Mayer, Fabian, 2021. "Discovering the True Schumpeter - New Insights into the Finance and Growth Nexus," CEPR Discussion Papers 16851, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Peter L. Rousseau & Paul Wachtel, 2005. "Economic Growth and Financial Depth: Is the Relationship Extinct Already?," Working Papers 05-15, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics.
    19. Małgorzata Iwanicz-Drozdowska & Paola Bongini & Paweł Smaga & Bartosz Witkowski, 2019. "The role of banks in CESEE countries: exploring non-standard determinants of economic growth," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 349-382, May.
    20. Guglielmo Maria Caporale & Christophe Rault & Robert Sova & Anamaria Sova, 2009. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: Evidence from Ten New EU Members," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 940, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:compes:v:53:y:2011:i:3:p:475-488. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.