In: Economics
Some economists say the lack of well-developed financial markets explains why the economies of developing countries grow rather slowly. True or false? Explain your response with a suitable framework, with emphasis on allocative efficiency and marginal productivity of capital.
It is true.
A developed financial market provides a platform that brings
seekers of the funds and providers of the funds together and
channelization of funds take place. A faster channelization
reflects an increase in productive activities that benefits to all
the parties involved in the channelization. For example, a bank
takes deposits from the investors and pay them, interest rates.
These deposits are issued to the businesses and higher interest
rate is charged. Now, all three parties gain as depositors gain
some interest income, businesses start production of goods and
services and the bank gets interest rate income due to the margin
of interest rate charged and the interest rate paid. Such
channelization of funds can be further accelerated by the
development of bond market, equity market, money market or other
financial instruments that can channelize the funds. All these
markets and instruments bring different rate of return and
interests with different risk profiles. Hence the allocative
efficiency is achieved when a well-developed market gives different
opportunities to the investors on the basis of risk and return
profile. Firms also get the funds that are required to produce the
profit maximizing output where MR = MC. At this level, the marginal
productivity of capital is also efficient in the economy as
different investors get different return of their choice, provided
they take the risk. It only happens through the well-developed
financial market where the regulations help to protect the
interests of the investors. In the absence of such developed
market, channelization becomes very difficult and people & firm
neither achieve allocative efficiency for their capital, nor the
adequate MPk is achieved. So, economy suffers from the
laggardness.