Flow of funds: implications for research and financial sector development and the real economy

This paper provides a selective survey of the leading theoretical and empirical issues surrounding the flow of funds: its meaning and origin, problems of construction, and more particularly the key issues involved in financial modelling. It is argued that there is an intimate connection between the flow of funds, interest rate and asset price determination, and hence incomes and expenditures in an economy. The paper also explores the reasons for lack of success at empirical flow of funds modelling and proposes “promising research ideas” (PRIs) for future research on the relationship between financial sector development and the real economy, especially in order to identify effective financial sector policies for promoting poverty-reducing economic growth in low-income developing countries.