Trade Openness, Financial Development, and Economic Growth in Turkey: Linear and Nonlinear Causality Analysis

Abstract

This paper aims at empirically investigating the direction of causality among trade liberalization, financial development, and economic growth in Turkey. By employing monthly data for the period January, 1989- November, 2007, both linear and nonlinear causality approaches indicate that (i) there is bi-directional causality between economic growth and trade openness, (ii) economic growth causes financial development, and (iii) financial development leads to trade liberalization. Thereby, linear and nonlinear approaches confirm strong causal linkages among financial development, trade openness, and economic growth in Turkey. These results partially imply that economic growth depends upon trade liberalization through external finance in Turkey which has been experiencing capital account liberalization since 1989.