Search

This paper contributes to the empirical literature by investigating the impact of private capital inflows on economic growth across former Soviet-bloc countries between 1990 and 2015. Roles of the stock market and of demand-side macroeconomic policy are investigated using panel data analysis. The result suggests that though foreign direct investment (FDI) contributing relatively more to economic growth than foreign portfolio investments (FPI), it interacts with stock market trading to negatively influence growth. Final Consumption Expenditure, Inflation, and Gross Savings have negative influences on growth. Our results support the notion that private capital inflow does not allowed to provide sufficient capital to local savings and growth, which is a sign of the crowding-out effect. We suggest that the demand-side macroeconomic policy and stock market activity should tailored more to support economic growth.

There is mixed support for the hypothesis that the banking sector is a channel for economic growth. While most studies on economic growth in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have not distinguished between conventional banks and Islamic banks, this study contributes to the empirical literature by comparing the respective impacts of Islamic banks and commercial banks on economic growth among GCC countries during the period 2001-2009, bringing out policy implications. The main result of panel data regressions is that both conventional and Islamic banks have fuelled economic growth, with the latter having a more significant impact. These results contradict the findings of some single-country studies that have examined the impact of Islamic banking on economic growth.