There is a vast empirical literature analyzing the impact of financial openness on economic growth but far less attention has been paid to its effects on productivity growth. This is surprising given the strong evidence that productivity growth is the main driver of long-term economic growth. In this new commentary, Brookings fellow Eswar Prasad, along with M. Ayhan Kose and Marco E. Terrones, argues that financial openness in fact has a positive impact on productivity growth, although the effects are subtle.