Finance and Macroeconomic Volatility

The role of financial development in economic growth and stability has, for many years, been the subject of intense discussion and debate. The mainstream view is that financial development exerts a large positive impact on economic growth. Recent research also finds that both capital markets and banks independently spur growth, and that capital markets provide different financial services from banks. In contrast, theoretical and empirical work on the relationship between financial development and macroeconomic volatility has been relatively scare. Even fewer works have explored the effects of capital markets on volatility. This book investigates these important issues. The overall finding is that countries with more advanced capital markets are characterised by lower output, investment and consumption volatility, less severe business cycle output contractions, lower probability of facing economic downturns and that they spend a smaller proportion of time in recession. This book should be especially useful to a policy maker, an economic professional, or anyone who participates in capital markets.