Financial development, financialisation and economic growth

The paper reviews the theoretical arguments which have been advanced on the relationships between economic growth and growth of the financial sector. This is followed by a similar discussion on financial repression and financial liberalisation. Growth of the financial sector and de-regulation are considered as two important features of financialisation. The differences between bank-based and market based financial systems are briefly explored as is the question of whether the financial sector is now too large. The paper is completed by overviews of the empirical results on the relationship between growth of the financial sector and economic growth and on financial liberalisation.