Financial Globalization and Stability

RIETI is glad to announce a joint workshop on September 6 with the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), a leading European think tank. RIETI President and CRO FUJITA Masahisa will welcome the CEPR team headed by its President Richard PORTES.

Financial markets around the globe have been remarkably quiescent in recent years, with only occasional spikes of volatility. And no major banking crises have emerged in industrial countries. There are nevertheless reasons why it is prudent to adopt a cautious approach. The financial sectors of advanced economies have experienced tremendous growth. The overall size of capital markets has increased in major industrial countries from one-and-a-half times the GDP to about twice the GDP over the last 15 years. This growth is close to a linear trend. Similarly, the contribution of the financial sector to total value added surged by about a third, from 5% to around 6.7%, over the last 20 years. However, the recent market turmoil triggered by the subprime mortgage problem in the U.S. has generated concern about how to view financial stability.

The workshop will analyze the implications for financial stability of these developments, and of financial globalization more broadly. Financial stability may be defined as the capacity of the financial system - financial intermediaries, markets, and infrastructure - to withstand shocks, imbalances, and the unraveling of these imbalances without materially impairing economic activity.

Presentations at the workshop will examine the main threats to financial stability in the major industrial economies, with some discussion of the emerging economies to which they are most exposed.