5  A substantial body of research finds that financial development supports economic growth, including Goldsmith (1969), King and Levine (1993), Rajan and Zingales (1998), and Levine (2005). It is noteworthy that this research emphasizes differences across countries, and that the United States is among the most financially developed countries in the world.
6  Beck, Demirgüç-Kunt, and Levine (2007) show that financial development reduces poverty and inequality in a study examining evidence across countries. 7  Zingales (2015) raises a number of questions regarding ways in which distortions in the financial sector may contribute to “rent seeking” activity that may promote inefficiency.