Financial integration and macroeconomic volatility: evidence from Asia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of financial integration on macroeconomic volatility for developing and emerging economies of Asia. Design/methodology/approach - The effects of financial integration and dynamics of macroeconomic volatility over time and across different groups of Asian economiesvis-à-visadvanced economies are investigated using four different variables such as consumption, output, income and the ratio of consumption to income. Further, an empirical link between the degree of international financial integration and macroeconomic volatility for Asian economies is econometrically investigated using generalized method of moments (GMM) system one-step estimator. Findings - Macroeconomic volatilities of per capita output and consumption growth tend to be lower for advanced economies compared to Asian economies. The computed cross-sectional median of the volatility of consumption, output, income and the ratio of consumption volatility to income suggested that the volatility of advanced economies is lower compared to all the regions of Asia. GMM results suggested that the financial openness, trade openness and broad money are negatively and significantly associated with macroeconomic volatility whereas inflation is positively and significantly associated with macroeconomic volatility but the magnitude of trade openness is found to be negligible. Research limitations/implications - The present study has not included the effects of other country-specific variables (such as fiscal policy volatility) and other external factors to understand macroeconomic volatility. Practical implications - High integration of economies promote economic growth, reduce macroeconomic volatility and reduce vulnerability to external shocks. This implies that policy makers should thrive to reform and create institutional infrastructure to deepen the integration. Originality/value - The paper is an important empirical contribution toward examining the effects of financial integration on dynamics of macroeconomic volatility for a large number of Asian developing and emerging economics over time and across different groups using recent data and latest analytical framework and techniques.