Stock Market Integration in the Southern African Development Community: Non-Bank Financial Intermediation vs Capital Market Development
摘要
The study sought to examine the extent to which stock markets in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are integrated by employing the beta and sigma convergence and cointegration test for the period between 1994 and 2022. Empirical results revealed that there is no evidence of convergence and there are no long-term relationships between the stock markets. The results imply that stock markets in the SADC region are not strongly integrated and there is weak convergence. Through the review of the literature, it was indicated that non-banking financial intermediaries (NBFIs) play an important role in regional economic integration. As shown in the literature, the stock market represents another avenue by which integration can be achieved. However, some conditions should be initially implemented before regional integration can be achieved. This includes developing the financial sector so that all countries are at par and ensuring that macroeconomic variables generally are within agreed regional thresholds.