International Financial Integration

This study examines the progress made in integrating the financial markets of the major industrial countries: Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States. Professor Marston shows that deregulation and liberalization have succeeded to such an extent that interest rates in any single currency are nearly the same regardless of whether they are offered in national or Eurocurrency markets. Professor Marston also demonstrates that currency denomination remains a barrier to full financial integration in that both nominal and real returns on financial instruments vary widely by currency tied together in the European Monetary System. The analysis examines returns in the money and bond markets of these countries, investigating whether there are systematic variations in relative returns across markets.