摘要：The paper screens hypotheses from theoretical models and stylised facts from empirical re-
search (quantitative research as well as economic history) concerning the significance of fi-
nancial development as a possible determinant of economic growth. It goes on arguing that a
major setback of recent empirical cross country studies is the poor validity of the indicators
used to proxy financial development. Moreover, since a country’s financial system is embed-
ded into the wider array of cultural, historical, political and organisational traditions, conven-
tions and rules of a given society, it is crucial to consider possible interactions between the
financial system and other socio-economic or -political subsystems. Specifically, while a
given level of financial activity may be highly beneficial to improve overall allocation of re-
sources in a given societal setting, under other circumstances a higher (lower) level of finan-
cial activity might be more adequate. Considering the transformation and restructuring taking
place in many parts of the world, a country’s financial system should be designed to address
its major tasks of channelling savings into investments and improving overall allocation of
scarce resources with specific regard to the surrounding in which is supposed to function. It is
therefore essential to know more about the interaction of the socio-political subsystem and the
finance-growth nexus, which figures so prominently in the recent literature on the ultimate
determinants of economic growth and development.
