Department of Economics. University of Melbourne. Melbourne Victoria 3010 Australia

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the channels through which innovations in the financial sector lead to economic growth. The channels identified are capital accumulation and technological innovation. The first is fulfilled by financial intermediaries which transform household savings into productive investment by firms, the second by venture capitalists which fund risky technological projects with high potential payoffs. The rate of financial innovation is determined by the amount of labor (or human capital) devoted to the sector as well as by spillovers from existing financial products. By embedding such a sector into the Romer (1990) - Jones (1995) and Lucas (1988) - Uzawa (1965) frameworks, it is shown that ultimately, financial innovations can only lead to long-run growth through its venture capital role. The transformative role for the financial sector only leads to temporary growth effects on the transitional path to the steady state.