Does Development Level of Stock Market Affect the Degree of Global and Regional Integration? Evidence from the Central and Eastern European Countries Stock Markets

Despite many similarities among the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs’) stock markets, there are some important differences in terms of markets size, development level, etc. Stock market characteristics could give an explanation for the existing differences among the global and regional integration of the CEECs’ stock markets. The objective of this study—to assess the impact of stock market development on the degree of global and regional integration of CEECs’ stock markets. The research methods: the systemic, logical and comparative analysis of the scientific literature and panel regression. The empirical results of this study suggest that the stock markets in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Croatia are most developed CEECs stock markets. The EU enlargement process, the introduction of the euro and the removal of exchange rate risk in most of the CEECs had only short lasting effect on the CEECs stock markets’. The development level of stock market (stock market size and stock market turnover) has a statistically significant positive effect on the degree of global and regional financial integration.