STOCK-MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCIAL-INTERMEDIARIES - STYLIZED FACTS

World stock markets are booming, and emerging stock markets account fo r a disproportionate share of this growth. Yet economists lack a commo n concept or measure of stock market development. This article collect s and compares a broad array of indicators of stock market and financi al intermediary development, using data from forty-four developing and industrial countries during the period from 1986 to 1993. The empiric al results exhibit wide cross-country differences for each indicator a s well as intuitively appealing correlations between various indicator s. The article constructs aggregate indexes and analyzes them to docum ent the relationship between the emergence of stock markets and the gr owth of financial intermediaries. It produces a set of stylized facts that facilitates and stimulates research into the links among stock ma rkets, economic development, and corporate financing decisions.