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Regional Financial Integration in the Caribbean: Evidence From Financial and Macroeconomic Data
Author:
Goohoon Kwon null

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Mr. Raphael A Espinoza
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Series:
IMF Working Papers
Volume/Issue:
Volume 2009: Issue 139
Language:
English
Publication Date:
01 Jul 2009
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451872866.001
ISBN:
9781451872866
ISSN:
1018-5941
Pages:
35
Keywords:
WP; market capitalization; trade balance; exchange rate; CARICOM; cross-market premium; cross-listed stock; Threshold Auto-Regressive model; current account dynamics; CARICOM group; CARICOM community; CARICOM firm; price convergence; balance of payments; liquid asset; Financial integration; Stock markets; Stocks; Current account; Regional integration; Caribbean; Global
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IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.
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This paper assesses the extent of regional financial integration in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) by analyzing equity prices in the region and rigidity of external financing constraints. The results are presented in a cross-regional perspective. The Caribbean stock markets are not as well integrated as one would expect from the extent of cross-listing and importance of regional banking groups: price differentials of cross-listed stocks reach an average of 5 percent. Auto-Regressive models suggest that these price differentials are only slowly arbitraged away, with half-lives exceeding 7 worked days, even when looking only at large arbitrage opportunities (using a Threshold Auto-Regressive model). A speculative methodology using macroeconomic data seems to confirm these findings. A strong mean reversion of the current account (respectively regional trade imbalances) is interpreted, following Obstfeld and Taylor (2004), as a lack of ways to finance current account deficits, i.e. a lack of global (respectively regional) financial integration. The region appears to be much less integrated than the EU15 or the ASEAN+3 groups, although it fares well compared to other LDCs.
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Cover IMF Working Papers
IMF Working Papers
ISSN:
1018-5941
Publisher:
International Monetary Fund