{ "title": "Growth and Structural Reforms: A New Assessment", "publication": "IMF Working Papers, December 1, 2009", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/growth-and-structural-reforms-a-new-assessment-23464", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/growth-and-structural-reforms-a-new-assessment-23464", "overlayPath": "/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/growth-and-structural-reforms-a-new-assessment-23464/index.md", "summary": "This paper presents a simultaneous assessment of the relationship between economic performance and three groups of economic reforms: domestic finance, trade, and the capital account.", "sections": [ { "heading": "Core findings", "content": "- The paper assesses the relationship between economic performance and three groups of economic reforms: domestic finance, trade, and the capital account.\n- Domestic financial reforms and trade reforms are robustly associated with economic growth, but only in middle-income countries.\n- No systematic positive relationship is found between capital account liberalization and economic growth.\n- The effect of domestic financial reforms on economic growth in middle-income countries is explained by improvements in measured aggregate TFP growth, not by higher aggregate investment.\n- Variation in the quality of property rights helps explain heterogeneity in the effectiveness of financial and trade reforms in developing countries.\n- Evidence suggests that sufficiently developed property rights are a precondition for reaping the benefits of economic reform.\n- Results are robust to endogeneity bias and a number of alternative specifications." }, { "heading": "Data, methods, and scope", "content": "- Simultaneous assessment across three reform groups: domestic finance, trade, and the capital account.\n- Focus on heterogeneity across country income groups, with key positive associations identified for middle-income countries only.\n- Outcomes analyzed include economic growth and measured aggregate total factor productivity (TFP) growth; aggregate investment is explicitly examined and not found to explain the financial-reform growth link in middle-income countries." }, { "heading": "Policy-relevant implications", "content": "- Prioritize domestic financial and trade reforms in middle-income countries to support growth, conditional on institutional context.\n- Strengthen property rights as a complementary precondition to ensure reforms translate into growth and TFP gains.\n- Caution against expecting growth dividends solely from capital account liberalization based on the paper’s findings." }, { "heading": "Publication and metadata", "content": "- Authors: Lone Engbo Christiansen, Thierry Tressel, Martin Schindler\n- Date: December 1, 2009\n- Series: Working Paper No. 2009/284\n- Issue: 284\n- Volume: 2009\n- Pages: 52\n- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451874297.001\n- Stock No: WPIEA2009284\n- ISBN: 9781451874297\n- ISSN: 1018-5941\n- Subjects: Capital account, Capital account liberalization, Inflation, Personal income, Total factor productivity\n- Keywords: capital account reform, dependent variable, liberalization index, WP\n\nIMF Working Paper \"Growth and Structural Reforms: A New Assessment\" by Lone Engbo Christiansen, Thierry Tressel, and Martin Schindler (Working Paper No. 2009/284, December 1, 2009).\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- IMF Working Paper 09/284 - Growth and Structural Reforms: A New Assessment, December 2009\n - IMF Working Paper 09/284 - Growth and Structural Reforms: A New Assessment, December 2009 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n - IMF Working Paper 09/284 - Growth and Structural Reforms: A New Assessment, December 2009 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/growth-and-structural-reforms-a-new-assessment-23464" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/growth-and-structural-reforms-a-new-assessment-23464/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/growth-and-structural-reforms-a-new-assessment-23464/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/growth-and-structural-reforms-a-new-assessment-23464/bundle-manifest.json)", "Authors: Lone Engbo Christiansen, Thierry Tressel, Martin Schindler", "Published: December 1, 2009", "Series: IMF Working Papers", "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451874297.001", "The paper assesses the relationship between economic performance and three groups of economic reforms: domestic finance, trade, and the capital account.", "Domestic financial reforms and trade reforms are robustly associated with economic growth, but only in middle-income countries.", "No systematic positive relationship is found between capital account liberalization and economic growth.", "The effect of domestic financial reforms on economic growth in middle-income countries is explained by improvements in measured aggregate TFP growth, not by higher aggregate investment.", "Variation in the quality of property rights helps explain heterogeneity in the effectiveness of financial and trade reforms in developing countries.", "Evidence suggests that sufficiently developed property rights are a precondition for reaping the benefits of economic reform.", "Results are robust to endogeneity bias and a number of alternative specifications.", "Simultaneous assessment across three reform groups: domestic finance, trade, and the capital account.", "Focus on heterogeneity across country income groups, with key positive associations identified for middle-income countries only.", "Outcomes analyzed include economic growth and measured aggregate total factor productivity (TFP) growth; aggregate investment is explicitly examined and not found to explain the financial-reform growth link in middle-income countries.", "Prioritize domestic financial and trade reforms in middle-income countries to support growth, conditional on institutional context.", "Strengthen property rights as a complementary precondition to ensure reforms translate into growth and TFP gains.", "Caution against expecting growth dividends solely from capital account liberalization based on the paper’s findings.", "Authors: Lone Engbo Christiansen, Thierry Tressel, Martin Schindler", "Date: December 1, 2009", "Series: Working Paper No. 2009/284", "Issue: 284", "Volume: 2009", "Pages: 52", "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451874297.001", "Stock No: WPIEA2009284", "ISBN: 9781451874297", "ISSN: 1018-5941", "Subjects: Capital account, Capital account liberalization, Inflation, Personal income, Total factor productivity", "Keywords: capital account reform, dependent variable, liberalization index, WP", "**IMF Working Paper 09/284 - Growth and Structural Reforms: A New Assessment, December 2009**" ], "related": [ { "title": "IMF Working Paper 09/284 - Growth and Structural Reforms: A New Assessment, December 2009", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2009/_wp09284.pdf", "summary": { "path": "/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2009/_wp09284.pdf.md", "mime": "text/markdown" }, "binary": { "path": "/-/media/websites/imf/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2009/_wp09284.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } } ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/growth-and-structural-reforms-a-new-assessment-23464/index.md", "json": "/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/growth-and-structural-reforms-a-new-assessment-23464/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/growth-and-structural-reforms-a-new-assessment-23464/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-17T15:17:28.014Z" }