In the last two decades, one of the most debated topics in international finance has dealt with the issue of financial globalization. Most studies have been largely motivated by some recent events, either beneficial or deleterious. Among the former, one may cite the introduction of the Euro, the widening and deepening of the EU and the success of NAFTA; among the latter, there have been significant episodes of crisis and contagion, such as the Asian, Brazilian and Russian crises, which have generated debate and diverse opinion.

These events have spurred the emergence of a plethora of studies on the measurement and econometric investigation of spillovers, contagion and financial integration. The issues have been approached from multiple perspectives, including not only the sample variation in terms of number of countries and years selected, but also the nature of the analyzed flows (banking or financial flows) and, most importantly, whether financial integration has occurred, either from a price perspective or a quantity perspective.

The aim of the workshop will be twofold. First, state-of-the-art studies in which some recent advances in the area of financial integration indicators will be presented. These indicators are based both on price data and on quantity data and, therefore, they stand with the most recent proposals in the literature. Thus, it will be possible to ascertain whether financial integration is progressing, stable or regressing. Second, since full financial integration has not been reached as of today, some other studies will deal with the issue as to the likely determinants of financial integration, and related topics.

The studies presented will also differ in some respects such as the type of flows considered (financial and/or banking flows) and, most importantly, the geographical area of study, which can be either the whole world (although the coverage of the sample hinges on dramatically on the available information) or more restricted areas which have a direct interest in becoming financially integrated such as the European Union.

The topics will be discussed by different people from academia, think tanks, and other recognized institutions. The variety of points of view is important, since only by reaching a wide consensus on which the most appropriate methods to measure financial globalization are, will they get worldwide acceptance and eventually be used extensively.

Although it will be difficult to obtain such a consensus, it will be of great interest to have a joint view of some of the most important methods available as of today, since that will enable them to be compared with each other, and also to assess their strengths and weaknesses, and perhaps to sort out which methods are better suited to different types of international integration, i.e., either trade, financial, cultural or political.

“Time-Varying Integration, Contagion and International Diversificaton Strategies”
Lieven Baele, CentER and Tilburg University (The Netherlands)

“Financial integration, productivity and capital accumulation”
Alessandra Bonfiglioli, Institut d’Anàlisi Econòmica, CSIC (Spain)

“The determinants of international financial integration”
Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, Internacional Monetary Fund (USA)

“FDI versus exports: Evidence from German banks”
Alexander Lipponer, Deutsche Bundesbank Central Office (Germany)

“Openness and geographic neutrality: How do they contribute to international banking integration?”
Iván Arribas, Francisco Pérez, Universitat de València and Ivie and Emili Tortosa-Ausina, Universitat Jaume I and Ivie (Spain)

“The determinants of cross-border lending in the euro zone”
Harald Sander and Sylvia Heuchemer, Cologne University of Applied Sciences (Germany)

Ivie
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