Extract

Chapter 5 outlines the role which the financial sector plays in market-based economic development and the role played by the legal system in financial sector development (FSD). After discussing the fundamental functions of any financial system and the different types of markets and institutions which constitute a financial system, the chapter turns to a discussion of how FSD might be measured. The evidence on the relationship between FSD and economic growth is assessed. Building on this empirical evidence, the factors which promote FSD are examined. The chapter draws not only on the finance literature but the institutional literature discussed in Chapters 2, 3 and 4. These tools are then utilized to examine the problems faced and potential opportunities open to FSD in developing countries. In this regard, particular attention is paid to the relative merits of credit markets and capital markets in promoting FSD in developing countries.