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We use a cross-country cross-industry unbalanced panel dataset to examine whether countries with a higher degree of international financial integration exhibit a greater comparative advantage in the exports of industries that rely more on external financing. Our results indicate that financial integration can be a source of comparative advantage, especially for industries relying more on external finance. However, the benefits of financial integration also depend on a country's quality of economic and legal institutions. The pros and cons of international financial integration are still being debated in the literature. Our study adds empirical evidence to the beneficial effects of financial integration on real economic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]