les cahiers du mecas
Volume 8, Numéro 1, Pages 10-18
2012-12-31

Is Financial Integration Good For Economic Growth In Maghreb Countries?

Authors : Zenasni Soumia . Benhabib Abderrezzak .

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to test empirical relationship between financial integration and economic growth in three Maghreb countries (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia) using cointegration time series and Granger Causality methods. The study of this relationship has always been of particular interest (McKinnon and Shaw 1973; Alesina and al 1994; De Gregorio 1996; Edwards 2001; Agénor 2001; Prasad and al.2003; Dhrifi 2009). The results are mitigated and can be classified into two categories: negative and positive effects. As a matter of fact, some authors have showed that capital account liberalization hasn't a significant effect on economic growth (Grilli and Milesi-Ferretti 1995; Rodrick 1998; Kraay 1998; O’Donnell 2001; Edison and al. 2002). On the contrary, several theoretical and empirical studies assert that capital account liberalization can help countries to improve significantly their economic growth rate (Gurley and Shaw 1955, McKinnon 1973; Quinn 1997; Levine and Zervos 1998; Chan-Lau and Chen 2001; Bekaert and al. 2005; Levchenko and al. 2008; Mensi and al. 2010, Hassana, Sanchezb & Yu 2011). The estimation results show that financial integration is a good factor in fostering economic growth in Maghreb countries

Keywords

Financial integration, economic growth, Maghreb countries, cointegration time series.