Real Interest Rate Linkages in the GCC Countries

Linkages among real interest rates in the Gulf Cooperation Council coun - tries and the US are investigated using a variety of time series tests. These tests provide an evidence of strong linkages among real interest rates within the GCC countries and between the GCC rates and the US real interest rate in the long run, but they provide weaker evidence for linkages in the short-run. More - over, the US does not seem to have a dominant financial role in the GCC mar - kets and that the GCC countries seem to have more integrated markets within the region than with the USA.