The McKinnon-Shaw framework directs attention to the return on financial liberalisation as being an increase in the rate of economic growth. The 1990s experience indicates that there is a risk factor associated with financial liberalisation (i.e. financial crisis) might surpass the return of economic growth. Peculiar to the 1990s financial crises has been portfolio capital flows which played a role in most of the affected LDC's. Both the return and the risk of financial liberalisation have been investigated in this thesis, in the context of the 1990s experience. Financial liberalisation...