Capital Flows and Capital Goods (joint with Eliza Hammel)

We examine one of the channels through which financial integration can help promote growth. In particular, we study the effects of capital account liberalization on the imports of capital goods. We pay particular attention to the effects of equity market liberalization. We find that for the period 1980-1997, after controlling for trade liberalization and other macroeconomic reforms and policies, stock market liberalization leads to a substantial increase in the share of imports of capital goods. Our results suggest that with the increased access to international capital firms noticeably increase their spending on imports of machinery and equipment.

Capital Flows and Capital Goods