Chapter 12 Trends in Financial Integration and Financial Development in Selected Asian Countries: Is There Any Relationship?

In the present era, there is visible trend of transition of the economy from the managerial capitalism to finance capitalism, which increases the role of finance in the economic development of a country. The concept of financial development deals with the access, depth, efficiency, and stability of the financial institution and the market of a country. On the other hand, the financial integration is the degree of the financial openness of a country. There are de facto (gross stock of foreign assets and liabilities as a ratio of GDP, cross border capital flows) and de jure (capital account restrictions) measures of the financial integration. An efficient financial system increases the savings rate, which enhances capital accumulation in the economy. This process will channelize the fund from the household to the financial system. The economic liberalization induces the household to utilize their global market fund and enhance the marginal productivity of the capital. A deeper financial integration is expected to increase the public access in the domestic financial market as well as in the global market. Financial integration has some indirect effect on the economic growth through expansion and development of the financial system. In this context, this study examines the state of financial development and the financial integration across emerging countries in Asia. An attempt also was made to investigate whether the developed financial system promotes the financial integration or the financial integration induces the authority to develop the financial system. This study is based on the selected Asian countries over the period 2001–2016. Empirical evidence also support a significant positive association between the indicators of financial development and financial integration. It also indicates an empirical relationship from the financial development to the financial integration, and vice versa.