Capital flows and financial development: a view from developing countries

Abstract

In Latin America, financial relations became more complicated and large companies were consolidated during the globalization phase. Interestingly, however, the capital market did not develop at the same pace, as the operations of large companies (multinationals and multilatinas) were not conducted via domestic financial institutions, but rather via bonds issued by international financial centers. In light of this, the article employs a panel data econometric model to measure the impact of capital flows (FDI and portfolio) on a set of financial and real sector indicators. Findings show that capital inflows did not contribute to financial development or economic growth.