THE IMPACT OF CREDIT UNION FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH: A MULTI-COUNTRY ANALYSIS

Abstract

The paper investigates the relationship between credit union (CU) financial intermediation and economic growth using seventeen-year data (1995-2011) from 12 CU countries. Using the panel Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation technique, the study finds that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between CU financial intermediation and economic growth. On the strength of this evidence, the paper concludes that CU financial intermediation has a positive impact on economic growth and thus recommends a vigorous promotion of CU financial intermediation in the study countries.