The nexus between financial development and trade performance Empirical evidence from India in the presence of endogenous structural breaks

Purpose This study aims to empirically examine the relationship between financial development and trade performance for the Indian economy through a time-series analysis with annual data over the period 1980-2016. Design/methodology/approach The study uses new econometrics techniques such as unit root tests in the presence of endogenous structural breaks and autoregressive-distributed lag bounds test for the analysis. Findings Empirical results reveal that the level of financial development has a significant positive impact on the exports, imports and trade balance of manufactured goods for the Indian economy. Originality/value This study is the first of its kind which provides a holistic analysis of the relationship between financial development and trade performance for the Indian economy and also investigates the direction of causality between financial development and international trade by considering the possible presence of multiple endogenous structural breaks in the data. Moreover, in contrast to the available literature, the present study focuses on net exports as a key indicator of trade performance rather than trade openness.