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Is Finance Good for Growth? New Evidence from China

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  • Jingzhu Chen
  • Yuemei Ji

Abstract

We study the relationship between finance and growth using a sample of 275 Chinese cities during 2009-2018. We exclude a large amount of bank loans to local governments through the local government financing vehicles (LGFVs). This allows us to construct a new and better financial development index which measures the level of loans extended by banks to enterprises and households. Estimates from both GMM and Instrument Variables approaches indicate that financial development in the form of higher loan to GDP ratio leads to lower economic growth rate. We find that discrimination in bank lending, housing market bubbles and an unbalanced growth between real and financial sectors account for this negative relationship between finance and growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingzhu Chen & Yuemei Ji, 2022. "Is Finance Good for Growth? New Evidence from China," CESifo Working Paper Series 9882, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9882
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; financial development; economic growth; banks; city;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • N25 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Asia including Middle East

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