Degree Of Financial Integration Research Articles

International Financial Integration and Crisis Contagion

International financial integration helps to diversify risk but also may increase the transmission of crises across countries. We provide a quantitative analysis of this trade-off in a two-country general equilibrium model with endogenous portfolio choice and collateral constraints. Collateral constraints bind occasionally, depending upon the state of the economy and levels of inherited debt. The analysis allows for different degrees of financial integration, moving from financial autarky to bond market integration and equity market integration. Financial integration leads to a significant increase in global leverage, doubles the probability of balance sheet crises for any one country, and dramatically increases the degree of `contagion' across countries. Outside of crises, the impact of financial integration on macro aggregates is relatively small. But the impact of a crisis with integrated international financial markets is much less severe than that under financial market autarky. Thus, a trade-off emerges between the probability of crises and the severity of crises. Financial integration can raise or lower welfare, depending on the scale of macroeconomic risk. In particular, in a low risk environment, the increased leverage resulting from financial integration can reduce welfare of investors.

Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Degree of Financial Integration among East Asian Countries

This paper aims to gauge the impact of the global financial crisis on bilateral holdings of financial assets among East Asian countries. For this purpose, this paper uses the International Monetary Fund's Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS) data. We first present information about financial linkages between the CPIS-participating eight East Asian economies and other East Asian economies before and after the global financial crisis of 2008. We then apply the gravity model to assess the determinants of the cross-border holdings of foreign securities for four major East Asian financial investors – Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Singapore. We find only few changes in the bilateral holdings of financial assets among East Asian countries in the post-crisis period. In particular, our evidence does not indicate that intra-Asian financial integration has increased noticeably since the global crisis.

Financial Fragility and Contagion in Interbank Networks

In this paper I assess the resilience of different network topologies to an exogenous shock for varying degrees of financial integration, as defined by connectivity. Three different network configurations for the financial system are taken into consideration: random graphs, small world networks and scale free networks. These three network topologies are then stress-tested under four different scenarios: a benchmark case of no liquidity risk and random attack, the case of liquidity risk and two cases of targeted attack (one in a probabilistic sense, the other by setting into default the most connected institution). I find that both the topology and the scenario strongly affect the width of the contagion window and the severity of contagion itself. In particular I show how random graphs provide protection against targeted attacks, but they are particularly fragile to random attacks, while the scale free configuration is extremely fragile to targeted shocks, despite being resilient to random ones. For small world graphs I find instead that the only factor explaining contagion is the average degree, since no substantial difference is found among the four scenarios.

Integration of world leaders and emerging powers into the Malaysian stock market: A DCC-MGARCH approach

This paper examines the financial integration of two world leaders (the U.S. and Japan) and two emerging powers (China and India) into the Malaysian stock market. A DCC-MGARCH approach is employed to examine the correlations among these countries in a time-variant manner to indicate the degree of financial integration among the countries. It is found that the financial integration between Malaysia and China started to evolve in April 2004. Strong financial integration between the stock markets in India and Malaysia was observed. In contrast, the volatility spillover effect from the U.S. to Malaysia disappeared, especially in the short term. Nevertheless, the study suggests that in the long run, investors in Malaysia could gain by diversifying their portfolios in China and Japan relative to India and the U.S.

The Synchronisation of ASEAN-5 Stock Markets with the Growth Rate Cycles of Selected Emerging and Developed Economies

This study explores the changing direction and degree of financial integration of the emerging economies, People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India, with ASEAN-5 and compares it to the developed economies, the US and Japan, in a time-varying framework. The concordance and rolling concordance indices are used to study the cyclical behaviour in the ASEAN-5 stock markets with the economic activity of the emerging and developed economies. This study covers the period between January 1991 and June 2010. One of the more significant findings from this study is that ASEAN-5 stock markets do not react as a whole to external shock from these four trading partners. Each stock market in ASEAN-5 responded differently in terms of direction and degree towards the influences of the economic condition in these emerging and developed economies. The ASEAN-5 stock markets were less correlated with economic activities in emerging economies but were more aligned with economic activities in developed economies. In summary, ASEAN-5 stock market cycles were still more dependent on the developed economies’ growth rate cycles.

INTEGRACJA FINANSOWA I JEJ WPŁYW NA EWOLUCJĘ SYSTEMÓW KURSOWYCH

This article aims to analyze whether and to what extent financial integration affects the choices of exchange rate systems, made in advanced economies and emerging and developing economies. The study revealed that the process of harmonization of exchange rate systems in advanced economies and emerging and developing economies has been hampered by differentials in the process of financial integration in these economies. Advanced economies, which have achieved a higher degree of financial integration, are attracting the bulk of international capital. The situation is opposite in emerging and developing economies. The volume of capital flowing to and from these economies is much smaller; these flows are also subject to very strong fluctuations. That’s why the monetary authorities in emerging and developing economies do not pick up corner solutions concerning the exchange rate regime. They use interim regimes, treating them as a buffer against excessive volatility of the market exchange rate that protects the autonomy of the monetary policy.

Measures of financial openness and interdependence

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review concepts and measurements related to financial globalization such as financial openness, financial integration, monetary interdependence, and the mobility and movement of capital.Design/methodology/approachThis paper surveys the theoretical and empirical literature on monetary interdependence and financial globalization. The major ways in which these concepts are measured empirically are presented and critiqued.FindingsDisagreements about the degree of financial integration and capital mobility are, in part, explained by the different approaches to measuring these concepts. One major challenge in obtaining a good measures is controlling for other major factors that may influence observed correlations among financial variables. While these relationships still cannot be estimated precisely, it can be safely said that while high for many countries, few if any financial markets are perfectly integrated across countries.Originality/valueBy offering a comprehensive analysis of these different measurements, the paper underscores the different implications for national policies and the operation of the international monetary system of different dimensions of globalization. In particular, the proposition that financial globalization has left most countries with little autonomy for domestic monetary policy is subject to serious debate, at least in the short run.

Financial integration within Europe and the international transmission of business cycles among industrialized countries

We exploit a dataset on financial integration within Europe to answer a novel question in the international Real Business Cycle (RBC) literature. Does financial integration within Europe matter for the international transmission of business cycles between the United States and Europe? We find that it does, and that as European countries become more financially integrated among themselves, European business cycles start to ‘decouple’ from those in the United States. We show that this is true for three macro indicators of economic activity: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), consumption and investment, and for five alternative measures of the degree of financial integration. We also show that the effect of trade linkages becomes insignificant once financial factors are accounted for. Our work has interesting policy implications since it unveils the importance of further integration in the EU to slow down the transmission of aggregate shocks among industrialized nations.

The Role of Remittences in the Explanation of Feldstein-Horioka Paradox: Evidence from Transition Economies

We measure the level of capital mobility following Feldstein and Horioka (1980) who assume that measuring the extent to which national saving and investment rates are correlated indicate the degree of financial integration into the world economy. While they surprisingly found the high positive correlation between saving and investment in developed OECD economies, subsequent empirical studies on the sample of less developed economies found smaller saving-investment correlation. Concentrating on the determinants of investments in the transition economies that could explain now conventional, puzzling Feldstein-Horioka results for transition economies, we were the first who consider remittances as possible explanation. The results of panel analysis seem to support the hypothesis of capital mobility among the economies in transition for the period 1995-2007. Highly significant effect of remittances on investment supports our argument that a significant portion of received remittances is directed toward investment in transition economies.

Financial Integration and Rebalancing in Asia

The paper shows that Asia's degree of financial integration, both with the world and within the region remains low by various measures. The paper also provides empirical evidence that greater financial integration can support economic rebalancing in statistically meaningful ways. The implication is that in the debate on managing capital inflows the longer-term benefits of financial openness for broader-based growth should not be forgotten.

Financial Integration and Rebalancing in Asia

The paper shows that Asia’s degree of financial integration, both with the world and within the region remains low by various measures. The paper also provides empirical evidence that greater financial integration can support economic rebalancing in statistically meaningful ways. The implication is that in the debate on managing capital inflows the longer-term benefits of financial openness for broader-based growth should not be forgotten.

Financial Integration and International Diversification Benefits: Cross Country Evidence from a Malaysian Perspective

A vast deal of research presenting evidence on the benefits of international diversification has been published. The empirical studies came to rather diverse conclusions as the authors used different sampling data, analyzed different countries within a different time period. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the degree of financial integration and benefits of portfolio diversification between the Malaysian equity markets and developed and developing equity markets from Malaysian perspective. The research question is; Is Malaysian financial market integrated to developed and developing markets? It inspects the controversial issues of market segmentation and integration in an emerging market setting, namely Malaysia. In the analysis, the developed and developing equity returns are adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations using Ringgit Malaysia based exchange rates. By employing time series analysis, the paper also seeks to investigate which market actually leads the Malaysian stock market. The research is based on secondary data, existing theories and earlier studies regarding international integration of stock market movements. The methodology utilizes standard co integration analysis, vector error correction model and portfolio theory. We also rely on variance decomposition and impulse response functions to gauge the strength of the interactions among the variables. This study contains secondary data for the period of 1999 to 2008.The study comprises monthly closing Morgan Stanley Composite Index (MSCI) indices of twenty developed and developing countries. The findings from the analysis could be useful to fund managers in their essential decision for portfolio management. The findings may also be of interest to policy makers interested in stock market co movement, since internationalization of markets could represent significant capital inflow or outflow and thus influence savings and consumption decisions.

International Bank Portfolios: Short- and Long-Run Responses to Macroeconomic Conditions

International bank portfolios constitute a large component of international country portfolios. Yet, banks' response to international macroeconomic conditions remains largely unexplored. We use a novel dataset on banks' international portfolios to answer three questions. First, what are the long-run determinants of banks' international portfolios? Second, how do banks' international portfolios adjust to short-run macroeconomic developments? Third, does the speed of adjustment change with the degree of financial integration? We find that, in the long-run, market size has a positive impact on foreign assets and liabilities. An increase in the interest differential between the home and the foreign economy lowers foreign assets and increases foreign liabilities. Foreign trade has a positive impact on international bank portfolios, which is independent from the effect of other macroeconomic variables. Short-run dynamics show heterogeneity across countries, but these dynamics can partly be explained with gravity-type variables.

Adopt the euro? The GME approach

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the degree of financial integration achieved in the European Union based on covered interest parity and using Generalized Maximum Entropy. EU countries are divided into two groups according to their current situation with respect to the adoption of the euro. Financial integration before the adoption of the euro is analyzed for the countries that adopted the euro in 1999. Similarly, current financial integration is evaluated for non-euro EU countries. Besides the importance of comparing the situation of the non-euro EU countries with the situation of the euro EU countries previous to the euro adoption, which may be useful to evaluate an eventual decision of the non-euro members to adopt the euro, it is interesting to analyze the performance of Generalized Maximum Entropy. Generalized Maximum Entropy has the ability to estimate the parameters of a regression model without imposing any constrains on the probability distribution of errors and it is robust even when we have ill-posed problems. Overall our results suggest that the degree of financial integration on non-euro countries is lower than the degree of financial integration that existed among euro adopting countries before the adoption of the euro.

When does financial integration matter for fiscal policy in a currency union? A welfare-based approach

We use a two-country new open economy macroeconomics model describing a currency union with imperfect financial integration. We assume that household preferences are biased towards the goods produced within the country. We use this setup to show how the degree of financial integration and the home bias affect the welfare efficiency of fiscal policy. This is particularly important for the implications of a fiscal policy launched by a member of the euro zone where the home bias is in a decreasing trend due to higher goods market integration and where there are explicit efforts to enhance financial integration. The results show in particular how the effects of an increasing financial integration on the impact of a fiscal policy can be mitigated or amplified by a decreasing home-product bias. Moreover, under certain conditions, the degree of financial integration has no effect on the welfare efficiency of fiscal policy despite its non-negligible effects on the components of welfare.

"The Degree Of Participation In The Global Market – A Financial Markets Globalisation Criterion "

We can measure the globalisation tendency of financial markets by means of several criteria 0 the degree of financial openness, the degree of financial integration and the degree of participation in the global financial market . This study aims at analysing the degree of participation in the global market as a Financial Markets Globalisation Criterion based on indicators such as the amount of issuing on the international markets, the number of cross listing, the percentage of foreign investments into the GDP etc. We can conclude that although we cannot talk about a global financial market yet, the intensity and extent of the cross0border financial activity indicates an evolution in this direction. Yet, the process does not have a linear trend.

U.S. Monetary Policy Surprises and International Securitized Real Estate Markets

This paper examines the impact of U.S. monetary policy surprises on securitized real estate markets in 18 countries. The policy surprises are measured by both the surprise changes to the target federal funds rate (the target factor) and surprises in the future direction of the Federal Reserve monetary policy (the path factor). The results show that most international securitized real estate markets have significantly positive responses to surprise decrease in current or future expected federal funds rates, though such responses vary greatly across countries. Also, while the U.S. securitized real estate market reacts mainly to the target factor, foreign securitized real estate markets react to the path factor. Furthermore, we find that the cross-country variation in the response to the target factor is correlated with the country’s exchange rate regime and its degree of real economic and particularly financial integration, while the cross-country variation in the response to the path factor is mainly related to the country’s degree of financial integration.

Financial markets and the current account: emerging Europe versus emerging Asia

Financial globalisation has been associated with divergent current account patterns in emerging markets. In this paper we test for the relevance of financial market characteristics in explaining different current account patterns in emerging Europe and emerging Asia. We find that better developed and more integrated financial markets increase emerging markets’ ability to borrow abroad. The degree of financial integration within the convergence clubs as well as the extent of reserve accumulation are found to be the most significant factors to explain divergent current account patterns in emerging Europe and emerging Asia.

Real convergence, financial markets, and the current account – Emerging Europe versus emerging Asia

Global financial integration has been associated with divergent patterns of real convergence and the current account in emerging markets. While countries in emerging Asia have been running sizeable current account surpluses, countries in emerging Europe have been facing large current account deficits. In this paper we test for the relevance of financial market characteristics in explaining this divergence in the catching-up process in Europe and Asia. We assume that the two regions constitute distinct convergence clubs, with the euro area and the United States respectively at their core. In line with the theoretical literature, we find that better developed and more integrated financial markets increase emerging markets’ ability to borrow abroad. Moreover, the degree of financial integration within the convergence clubs – as opposed to the state of financial integration in the global economy – and the extent of reserve accumulation are significant factors in explaining the divergent patterns of real convergence and the current account in the regions under review.

Long term dynamic of real exchange rate, trade liberalization and financial integration: The case of south-east Mediterranean countries

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the effects of the trade liberalization and of the international financial integration on the long-term behavior of Real Exchange Rate (RER) for the South East Mediterranean countries. So the following question: how does the new trade and financial context affect the Equilibrium RER? We refer to the econometric technique of time series analysis, (the unit root tests of Dickey-Fuller (1979) and we apply the cointegration test of Engle and Granger (1987) of single equation for six South East Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey) over the period of 1979-2004. Our estimates suggest that, for the six countries, long-term RER behavior depends essentially on economic specificity of each country and in particular on their degree of financial integration and trade opening. Our results also show that the evolution of the RER misalignment during our sample period, seem to be for some countries persistant and recurrent, but with decrease.