Financial Markets and Global Integration

Abstract

The process of economic globalisation is offering increasing opportunities to individual consumers and producers through trade in goods and services and the internationalisation of production, particularly via multinational companies. Since the Second World War we have seen increasing liberalisation of domestic financial markets (towards the open system seen during the 19th and early 20th century), a process which has generated opportunities for greater trade in financial assets and increasing integration of financial markets. This paper asks a number of questions about the latter process, often termed Financial Globalisation.