Financial Diversification Analysis of Trade Integration: The Case of Iran and Trading Partners (ECO, D8 and Eurasian Countries)

In recent years, given the significance of the financial sector and its interdependence with other sectors, especially the international trade sector, this industry’s academics and planners have examined the impact of financial development on commerce and trade integration. Therefore, in the present study, using the data of 12 selected countries that are members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Eurasia, and D8 during the period 1996-2020, and utilizing the augmented gravity model, the effect of a variety of financial tools, such as financial liberalization (FL) and open market operation (OMO), was discussed as a financial development to create trade integration between Iran and the selected countries. The results reveal that the index of financial liberalization has a positive and statistically significant impact on the degree of trade integration of the examined countries. In addition, the elasticity of trade integration is +0.01 than the OMO index. Another independent variable that has a positive effect on trade integration degree is economic size. Income convergence, population, the real exchange rate, and geographical distance have negative significant effects on trade integration in the countries under study. In order to establish the development plans of trade and financial sectors, the findings of this study may be of interest to policymakers and planners in ECO, Eurasia, and D8 nations, especially Iran; because the formation, growth, and strengthening of regional arrangements can offer a foundation for the entry of the region’s countries into the global economy and shield them from globalization’s challenges.