Regional Financial Integration in the Caribbean: Evidence From Financial and Macroeconomic Data

Goohoon Kwon and Raphael Espinoza

No 2009/139, IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: 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.

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 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35
Date: 2009-07-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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