The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online

Financial liberalization has led to financial deepening and higher growth in several countries. However, it has also led to a greater incidence of financial crises. Here, we review the empirical evidence on these dual effects of financial liberalization across different groups of countries. We then present a conceptual framework that explains why there is a trade-off between growth and incidence of crisis, and helps account for the cross-country difference in the effects of financial liberalization.