Linkage between financial development, trade openness and economic growth: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

The study investigate the relationship between the financial development, trade openness and economic growth in the Saudi Arabian economy from 1971 to 2012.The paper employed unit root tests, the co-integration test, the Granger Causality Test and the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The results from Johansen and Juselius co integration test underpins for the existence of long run relationship among the purported variables.Granger causality test exhibits unidirectional causality running from the trade openness to the economic growth in Saudi Arabia. The economic growth also causes financial development. The results manifest that combined causality exists among the variables. The study advocates for the acceleration of financial development in tandem with enhancing the ambit of trade openness for stimulating the economic growth in the country.