Comparative economic performance and stock market performance: Some evidence from the Asia-Pacific region

Abstract

This study looks at interdisciplinary research in the fields of economics, finance and socioeconomic relations addressing the question whether the ranking of countries by major economic, social, and financial performance indicators provide any guide to the rate and pattern of growth and development in the Asia-Pacific region. The paper also examines the extent of balanced and sustained growth in selected 14 Asia-Pacific countries. It analyses data on MSCI returns, GDP growth, and HDI to rank and correlate the overall performance of each country during the 1993-2009 period. Gini Index and CPI are also included to provide added insights. The results show that developing countries like India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are at the top on most of the financial and economic indicators, while Japan is the lowest except on HDI, where the bottom rankings goes to India, Indonesia and Pakistan. Overall, the results indicate no significant relationships between a country’s stock market returns and its GDP growth. Nonetheless, the results suggest that for balanced and sustainable well-being, economic growth in the less-developed countries need to be matched by concomitant improvements in social welfare, income distribution, transparency and accountability.