Capital Account Liberalization, Institutional Quality and Economic Growth: Theory and Evidence

This paper shows that the effect of capital account liberalization on growth depends upon the environment in which that policy occurs. A theoretical model demonstrates the possibility of an inverted-U shaped relationship between the responsiveness of growth to capital account liberalization and institutional quality. Three empirical specifications based on the model are estimated using a panel of 71 countries. Estimates of all three specifications support the hypothesis of a non-monotonic interaction between the responsiveness of growth to capital account liberalization and institutional quality, with about one-quarter of the countries, those with better (but not the best) institutions exhibiting a statistically significant and economically meaningful effect of capital account openness on economic growth.