This study examines the tripartite relationship between financial development, trade openness and economic growth in Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa for the 1980-2014 period. The study reveals a long-run causal relationship between financial development, trade openness and economic growth, thereby supporting finance- and trade-led growth hypotheses for Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. Moreover, long-run causality from financial development and economic growth to trade openness is found for Ghana. In the short-run, there is evidence of causality from growth to financial development for Ghana, from trade openness to financial development for Nigeria and from growth and financial development to trade openness for South Africa. The findings of this study are robust to alternative proxies of financial development and various diagnostic tests. The study shows that financial development and trade openness can be deployed to accelerate growth, while growth and financial development can be used to promote trade openness. Additionally, trade openness spurs financial development. Therefore, a tripartite relationship exists between the three variables. Hence, interdependence between financial development, trade openness and economic growth is found and consequent policy recommendations are made.

This paper examines the empirical relationship between long–run growth and the degree of financial development, proxied by the ratio of bank credit to the private sector as a fraction of GDP. We find that this proxy enters significantly and with a positive sign in growth regressions on a large cross–country sample, but with a negative sign using panel data for Latin America. Our findings suggest that the main channel of transmission from financial development to growth is the efficiency of investment, rather than its volume. We also present a model where the negative correlation between financial intermediation and growth results from financial liberalization in a poor regulatory environment.

Does leadership affect economic growth and development? Is leadership an exogenous determinant or an endogenous outcome of growth and development processes? Can we differentiate between the two? Do leaders decisions and actions vary in importance over various stages in the process, at least in successful cases? How important is choosing the right economic model? To what extent does leadership affect the explicit or implicit time horizons of policy choices? Is leadership an important determinant of inclusiveness in growth? In what ways do leaders build consensus or institutions to allow time for the economic plan to work? What challenges does economic success generate? How do successful leaders adapt to new problems such as income inequality and a rising middle class? Does the creation of new institutions play any role in solving these problems? Why do leaders often choose second best political economic compromises in economic development? This book has been prepared for the Commission on Growth and Development to evaluate the state of knowledge on the relationship between leadership and economic growth. It does not pretend to provide all the answers, but does review the evidence, identify insights and offers examples of leaders making decisions and acting in ways that enhance economic growth. It examines a variety of topics including leaders roles in: promoting national unity, building good solid institutions, choosing innovative and localized policies, and creating political consensus for long run policy implementation. Written by prominent academics and actual policy makers, Leadership and Growth seeks to create a better understanding of the role of leadership in growth and to encourage further studies of the role of leadership in economic growth.

This report is about a huge contribution to our deepening understanding of what the global economy really means and how it is changing. The report helpfully distinguishes elements of an economy that are tradable and the large set that are non-tradable. Clearly the tradables set is expanding with the support of enabling technology. The report argues that connectivity in the networks that define the evolving architecture of GVCs is important. This Global Value Chain Development Report is the result of intensive and detailed work in assembling and analyzing data on the structure of economies and on how they are linked. It creates a much clearer picture of evolving patterns of independence. It also presents a much clearer picture of comparative advantage. --Publisher description.