STOCK MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: A META-ANALYSIS

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Published: 2026-04-29
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46281/bjmsr.v11i2.2862
Keywords:
Capital Markets, Liquidity, Institutional Quality, Emerging Economies, Financial Intermediation, Market Capitalization, Turnover Ratio

Main Article Content

K. M. Anwarul Islam
Professor & Dean, School of Business and Social Sciences and Chairman, Department of Business Studies, State University of Bangladesh, Bangladesh
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5305-6724
Nurjahan Akter Monira
Lecturer, Department of Business Studies, State University of Bangladesh, Bangladesh
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4387-2602
Guneratne Wickremasinghe
Senior Lecturer, Victoria University Business School, Victoria University, Australia
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6946-0660
Ranjit Singh
Professor, Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Information Technology - Allahabad, India
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7465-2675
Werner Krings
Professor, Department of Marketing, Framingham State University, United States
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2071-5703

Abstract

Stock markets have become central to debates on long-run development because they can mobilize savings, improve liquidity, diversify risk, and discipline corporate investment, yet empirical findings on their macroeconomic contribution remain fragmented across countries, indicators, and estimation techniques. This study investigates whether stock market development systematically promotes economic growth and whether that relationship depends on the indicator used and on institutional conditions. The paper employs a secondary research design and meta-analytic direction-of-effect synthesis based on 30 peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 1998 and 2025. Each study is coded by region, period, methodology, stock market proxy, growth measure, institutional conditioning, and overall result direction, and the evidence is summarized with supportive shares, a sign test, and a weighted evidence index. The results show that 17 studies report a clearly positive relationship, 6 report a conditional positive relationship, 6 find mixed or insignificant results, and only 1 reports a net negative result. This yields a supportive share of 76.7% across all included studies and 95.8% among the 24 studies with an identifiable net direction, with the directional sign test rejecting symmetry (p < 0.001). The weighted evidence index equals 0.625, indicating moderately strong overall support. Indicator-level coding shows that liquidity-based proxies are more consistently favorable than size-based proxies, while recent threshold and interaction studies reveal that institutional quality shapes the nexus. Overall, the meta-analysis finds that stock market development is usually growth-enhancing, but the effect is heterogeneous rather than automatic, becoming strongest when markets are liquid, regulated, and embedded in supportive institutional environments.

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Vol. 11 No. 2 (2026): Continuous Publication

Section

Research Paper/Theoretical Paper/Review Paper/Short Communication Paper
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

K. M. Anwarul Islam , Professor & Dean, School of Business and Social Sciences and Chairman, Department of Business Studies, State University of Bangladesh, Bangladesh

Dr K. M. Anwarul Islam is a Professor & Dean of the School of Business and Social Sciences and the Chairman of the Department of Business Studies at the State University of Bangladesh. He graduated from the University of Dhaka and completed his PhD at Universiti Selangor, Malaysia. He is also a Research Fellow at INTI International University, Malaysia.

Dr Islam has authored or presented around 200 scientific papers in reputable journals indexed by ABDC, ERA, ABS, Scopus (Q1/Q2), WoS-ESCI, SCIE, and SSCI. He is an internationally recognised expert in Finance and Banking. An active member of various research and scientific societies, he has served on several institutional committees. Additionally, he has authored five books. According to Google Scholar, he has more than 4153 citations; his h-index is 34, and his i10-index is 116. According to Scopus, he has more than 829 citations and an h-index of 18. He is recognised as a Top Scientist by the AD Scientific Index, ranking as the country's best scientist in Business Administration for 2026.

Nurjahan Akter Monira , Lecturer, Department of Business Studies, State University of Bangladesh, Bangladesh

Ms. Nurjahan Akter Monira is currently working as a Lecturer and Program coordinator at the Department of Business Studies. In addition, she is the coordinator of the State University of Bangladesh Business Club, where she contributes to fostering a dynamic and engaging learning environment outside the classroom. She completed both her MBA and BBA in Finance & Banking from Jahangirnagar University, where she was the top performer in her class. She has published multiple articles in renowned international journals, and her research interests include Digital Finance, Financial Technologies, Financial Engineering, Corporate Governance, and Financial Institutions. 

Guneratne Wickremasinghe , Senior Lecturer, Victoria University Business School, Victoria University, Australia

Guneratne Wickremasinghe is a Senior Lecturer at the Victoria University Business School, Victoria University, Australia. His academic work is associated with business education, research, and teaching in higher education. As a university lecturer, he contributes to curriculum delivery, student supervision, and scholarly engagement within the business discipline. His role reflects a commitment to advancing knowledge, supporting student learning, and contributing to the academic mission of Victoria University.

Ranjit Singh , Professor, Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Information Technology - Allahabad, India

Professor Ranjit Singh is a Professor in the Department of Management Studies at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, India. He is an academic and researcher in the field of management studies, contributing to teaching, research, and scholarly development within higher education. His work supports the advancement of management education and the development of students, researchers, and future professionals.

Werner Krings , Professor, Department of Marketing, Framingham State University, United States

Professor Werner Krings is a Professor in the Department of Marketing at Framingham State University, United States. He is an academic and educator in the field of marketing, contributing to teaching, research, and student development within higher education. His role reflects a commitment to advancing marketing education and preparing students for professional and academic success.

How to Cite

Islam , K. M. A., Monira , N. A. ., Wickremasinghe , G. ., Singh , R. ., & Krings , W. . (2026). STOCK MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: A META-ANALYSIS. Bangladesh Journal of Multidisciplinary Scientific Research, 11(2), 145-156. https://doi.org/10.46281/bjmsr.v11i2.2862
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