This introduces the symposium on financial economics. JEL Classification Codes: G01, G02, G11, G12, G18, G21, G23, G28

The present contribution tests whether countries can be pooled when studying the financegrowth nexus. Overall, our results point toward a ‘pragmatic’ positive answer, though considerable heterogeneity is present among developing countries. JEL codes: C23, O16

What are the linkages between the maturity of corporate debt, the liquidity of financial markets and the real economy? Relative to developed countries, firms on emerging economies borrow at shorter maturities and assets are traded in markets with larger frictions. This paper studies how firms choose and finance long-term investment projects in a production economy subject to an over-the-counter...

This paper examines the development of financial markets in Mexico after 1994 and finds that there has been a reduction in the depth of the traditional financial markets. Lending from commercial banks to the non-financial private sector shrank from 10% of GDP in 1994 to 0.3% in 2000. However, gross domestic investment recovered quickly. Key questions are: where are firms getting financing; are ...

a r t i c l e i n f o JEL classification: O43 O16 E44 E31 Keywords: Banking sector Stock market Economic growth Granger causality ASEAN countries This paper examines the relationship between banking sector development, stock market development, economic growth, and four other macroeconomic variables in ASEAN countries for the period 1961–2012. Using principal component analysis for the construc...

The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment Flows to the Federal Region of Kurdistan The flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased dramatically in the last two decades. However, the distribution of FDI is highly unequal and the competition among countries to attract foreign investors is fierce. This report investigates the determinants of FDI inflows to developing countries in gen...

The large and widening gap between economic performance in Eastern European transition economies and those of the former Soviet Union has been dubbed “the Great Divide” by Berglof and Bolton (2002). This paper provides a rationale for the gap based upon the concept of financial repression. The magnified effects of transition to the market can be attributed to the government manipulation of fina...