Financial Structure and Economic Growth: Cross-Country Comparisons of Banks, Markets, and Development

Author: Editor: (USA) T. Beck, (USA) Esri Demirgü?-Kunt, (USA) Ross Levine
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: This book is a series of research reports specifically prepared by the research team led by the world-renowned economists T. Beck, Esri Demirgü?-Kunt, and Ross Levine, focusing on global financial development and economic growth. In the book, the research team constructs for the first time a comprehensive and systematic database of financial development across countries, presenting information on the scale, productivity, and business activities of financial markets and institutions in 150 countries and regions, as well as a wealth of data on their political, economic, and social environments. This is the most comprehensive and authoritative financial development database in academia to date regarding this research. Building on this database, the research team conducts rigorous studies, not only establishing a new indicator system and methodology for evaluating financial development in countries but also challenging many traditional and widely accepted views. The book particularly highlights that it is the overall level of financial development, not the financial structure, that promotes economic growth. Moreover, differences in political and legal systems also influence the relationship between financial development and economic growth. Therefore, the authors suggest that policymakers should focus less on financial structure and more on policy reforms related to law, regulation, market promotion, and banking operations, believing that this approach may yield greater returns. This book elevates financial development research to a new level.