Does Financial Constraints Impede Growth Convergence? Evidence From ECOWAS

Onyimadu, Chukwuemeka (2015): Does Financial Constraints Impede Growth Convergence? Evidence From ECOWAS. Published in: Journal of Research in Management and Social Sciences , Vol. 1, No. 1 (2015): pp. 134-152.

Abstract

The paper examines the hypothesis that financial constraints can impede convergence in growth rates. Using a Schumperetian growth model that incorporates innovations and financial constraints, the paper was able to put forward plausible effects of financial constraints on growth convergence in ECOWAS member countries. Employing a panel regression, the paper found that financial constraints which are present in countries with a less developed financial sector can impede growth convergence. This finding is robust when policy control variables – government size, inflation, trade openness - were included in the model.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Growth, Conditional Convergence, Financial Development, Innovations
• Subjects: E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E6 - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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