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Does state ownership of banks hinder financial development and economic growth in emerging markets?
This paper provides empirical analysis of macroeconomic effects of state ownership of banks. The aim is to test one of the key findings of theoretical and empirical literature of 1990s and early 2000s, namely that sizeable state ownership of commercial
banks hinders financial development and economic growth. We focus on several large emerging markets including BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and test several specific hypotheses for the period from 1995 through 2009. Our results suggest that positive or negative sign of the government ownership impact on financial intermediation and economic growth is not constant for all times but varies depending on the type of national economy (mature market or emerging market) and, within the emerging markets category, on the level of economic development. The impact is therefore heterogeneous and not homogeneous. This finding is in contrast with the established theory but in line with the most recent empirical literature.