The impact of foreign direct investment on financial market development: The case of Jordan

Abstract

This study examines the causal effect between foreign direct investment (FDI) and financial market development (FMD) in Jordan. Annual time-series data is used over the period 1978-2017. Principal component analysis is employed to create two indices to reflect FMD, namely stock market development (SMD) and banking sector development (BSD). To detect the causal effect between FDI and FMD, Vector Autoregressive Regressions, Granger Causality test and Johansen Co-integration test are employed in the analysis. In the short-run, the findings of Vector Autoregressive Regressions document a positive significant effect between SMD and FDI, however, no effect is found between BSD and FDI. The Granger Causality test shows unidirectional causality between SMD to FDI. Moreover, the Johansen Co-integration test reveals a long-run equilibrium relationship between FDI and FMD. These results are expected to have important implications for policy makers in Jordan.