INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH: EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC FREEDOMS ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ATTRACTION

Authors

  • Anđelka Štilić Academy of Applied Studies Belgrade, The College of Tourism, Belgrade, Serbia
  • Andrea Mastilo Student of Economics at Royal Russell London, London, United Kingdom
  • Krsto Vuković Economics and Finance, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
  • Dejan Mastilo Oikos Institute Research Center Bijeljina, Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2023-0013

Keywords:

economic freedoms, gross domestic product, GDP per capita, foreign direct investments, growth, employment

Abstract

Economic freedoms are essential for the growth and development of countries, but their distribution varies across nations, resulting in differences in economic growth. This study aims to explore the impact of economic freedoms on economic growth, measured by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow, by examining the influence of institutional quality. Economic freedom indicators were obtained from the 2022 report by the Heritage Foundation, and GDP per capita and FDI indicators were sourced from the World Bank report. This study employs multivariate regression analysis to
investigate the relationship between economic freedoms and economic growth. The findings suggest that economic freedoms have a positive effect on both GDP per capita growth and FDI inflow. Government integrity was found to be the primary indicator for GDP per capita growth, while Business freedom was identified as the key factor in attracting FDI. The implications of these results are significant, as they can inform policy decisions aimed at improving the standard of living by increasing GDP per capita and creating employment opportunities through FDI.

Author Biographies

Anđelka Štilić, Academy of Applied Studies Belgrade, The College of Tourism, Belgrade, Serbia

 

 

Andrea Mastilo, Student of Economics at Royal Russell London, London, United Kingdom

 

 

Krsto Vuković, Economics and Finance, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom

 

 

Dejan Mastilo, Oikos Institute Research Center Bijeljina, Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

 

References

Ahmed, S., Mushtaq, M., Fahlevi, M., Aljuaid, M., & Saniuk, S. (2023). Decomposed and composed effects of economic freedom on economic growth in south Asia. Heliyon, 9(2), e13478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13478

Bashir, M. F., Ma, B., Shahzad, L., Liu, B., & Ruan, Q. (2021). China’s quest for economic dominance and energy consumption: Can Asian economies provide natural resources for the success of One Belt One Road? Managerial and Decision Economics: MDE, 42(3), 570–587. https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.3255

Bjørnskov, C. (2016). Economic freedom and economic crises. European Journal of Political Economy, 45, 11–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2016.08.003

Boulton, T. J. (2023). Property rights and access to equity capital in China. Global Finance Journal, 55(100797), 100-797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfj.2022.100797

Bretas, V. P. G., & Alon, I. (2020). The impact of COVID ‐19 on franchising in emerging markets: An example from Brazil. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 39(6), 6–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/joe.22053

Brkić, I., Gradojević, N., & Ignjatijević, S. (2020). The impact of Economic Freedom on economic growth? New European dynamic panel evidence. Journal of Risk and Financial Management,13(2), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13020026

Cabello, J. M., Vidal, J. R., & Pérez-Gladish, B. (2021). An Alternative Aggregation Process for Composite Indexes: An Application to the Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom Index. Social Indicators Research, 153(2), 443–467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-020-02511-8

Cervelló-Royo, R., Devece, C., & González-Tejero, C. B. (2023). Economic freedom influences economic growth and unemployment: an analysis of the Eurozone. Economic Research,36(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677x.2023.2175007

Ciftci, C., & Durusu-Ciftci, D. (2022). Economic freedom, foreign direct investment, and economic growth: The role of sub-components of freedom. The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, 31(2), 233–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638199.2021.1962392

Ding, G., Vitenu-Sackey, P. A., Chen, W., Shi, X., Yan, J., & Yuan, S. (2021). The role of foreign capital and economic freedom in sustainable food production: Evidence from DLD countries. PLOS ONE, 16(7), e0255186. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255186

Dkhili, H., & Dhiab, L. (2018). The relationship between economic freedom and FDI versus economic growth: Evidence from the GCC countries. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 11(4), 81. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm11040081

Dutta, N., & Williamson, C. R. (2016). Aiding economic freedom: Exploring the role of political institutions. European Journal of Political Economy, 45, 24-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2016.07.009

Đukić, A., Štaka, M., & Drašković, D. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the macroeconomic aggregates of the European Union. ECONOMICS - Innovative and Economics Research Journal, 9(2), 91-108. https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2021-0023

Ecer, F., & Hashemkhani Zolfani, S. (2022). Evaluating economic freedom via a multi-criteria merec-dnma model-based composite system: Case of OPEC countries. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 28(4), 1158-1181. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2022.17152

Economou, F. (2019). Economic freedom and asymmetric crisis effects on FDI inflows: The case of four South European economies. Research in International Business and Finance, 49,114–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2019.02.011

Graafland, J. (2019). Economic freedom and corporate environmental responsibility: The role of small government and freedom from government regulation. Journal of Cleaner Production,218, 250-258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.308

Ghazalian, P. L., & Amponsem, F. (2019). The effects of economic freedom on FDI inflows: an empirical analysis. Applied Economics, 51(11), 1111-1132. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2018.1524979

Gouider, A. (2022). The nexus between economic freedom and economic growth in Arab countries. Montenegrin Journal of Economics, 18(1), 117-125. https://doi.org/10.14254/1800-5845/2022.18-1.9

Haddad, C., & Hornuf, L. (2019). The emergence of the global fintech market: economic and technological determinants. Small Business Economics, 53(1), 81-105. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-9991-x

Hall, J. C., & Lawson, R. A. (2014). Economic freedom of the world: An accounting of the literature. Contemporary Economic Policy, 32(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.12010

Hoque, H., & Liu, H. (2023). Impact of bank regulation on risk of Islamic and conventional banks. International Journal of Finance & Economics, 28(1), 1025-1062. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.2462

Hussain, M., & Haque, M. (2016). Impact of economic freedom on the growth rate: A panel data analysis. Economies, 4(4), 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies4020005

Iamsiraroj, S. (2016). The foreign direct investment–economic growth nexus. International Review of Economics & Finance, 42, 116-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2015.10.044

Ivanović, V., & Stanišić, N. (2017). Monetary freedom and economic growth in New European Union Member States. Economic Research, 30(1), 453–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677x.2017.1305803

Jones, C., Temouri, Y., Kirollos, K., & Du, J. (2023). Tax havens and emerging market multinationals: The role of property rights protection and economic freedom. Journal of Business Research, 155, 113373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113373

Kolawole, B. O. (2016). Government Spending and Inclusive-Growth Relationship in Nigeria: An Empirical Investigation. Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, 19(2), 33-56. https://doi.org/10.1515/zireb-2016-0007

Kolluru, M., Hyams-Ssekasi, D., & Sudhana Rao, K. (2021). A Study of Global Recession Recovery Strategies in Highly Ranked GDP EU Countries. ECONOMICS - Innovative and Economics Research Journal, 9(1), 85-106. https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2021-0011

Kuckertz, A., Berger, E. S., & Mpeqa, A. (2016). The more the merrier? Economic freedom and entrepreneurial activity. Journal of Business Research, 69(4), 1288–1293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.10.094

Leite, N. S., Carvalho Lucio, F. G., & Ferreira, R. T. (2019). Long-term effects of corruption control and economic freedom on economic growth. Theoretical Economics Letters, 09(08), 2965–2974. https://doi.org/10.4236/tel.2019.98183

Lu, W., Kasimov, I., Karimov, I., & Abdullaev, Y. (2020). Foreign direct investment, naturalresources, economic freedom, and sea-access: Evidence from the Commonwealth ofIndependent States. Sustainability, 12(8), 3135. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083135

Malanski, L. K., & Póvoa, A. C. S. (2021). Economic growth and corruption in emerging markets: Does economic freedom matter? International Economics, 166, 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inteco.2021.02.001

Mamkhezri, J., Muhamad, G. M., & Khezri, M. (2022). Assessing the spatial effects of economic freedom on forest-products, grazing-land, and cropland footprints: The case of Asia-Pacific countries. Journal of Environmental Management, 316, 115-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115274

Mastilo, Z., & Čičković, R. (2017). Structural weaknesses in the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina - A brake on growth and development. Applied Economics and Finance, 4(5), 54. https://doi.org/10.11114/aef.v4i5.2620

Murphy, R. H., Taylor, E., & Stansel, D. (2023). Economic freedom at metropolitan statistical area borders. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 82(2), 141-149. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12500

Prevolšek, B., Maksimović, A., Puška, A., Pažek, K., Žibert, M., & Rozman, Č. (2020). Sustainable Development of Ethno-Villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina-A Multi Criteria Assessment. Sustainability, 12(4), 1399. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041399

Puška, A., Maksimović, A., & Stojanović, I. (2018). Improving organizational learning by sharing information through innovative supply chain in agro-food companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Operational Research in Engineering Sciences: Theory and Applications, 1(1),76-90. https://doi.org/10.31181/oresta19012010175p

Puška, A., Kozarević, S., & Okičić, J. (2020). Investigating and analyzing the supply chain practices and performance in agro-food industry. International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management. 15(1), 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17509653.2019.1582367

Puška, A., Štilić, A., & Stojanović, I. (2023). Approach for multi-criteria ranking of Balkan countries based on the index of economic freedom. Journal of Decision Analytics and Intelligent Computing, 3(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.31181/jdaic10017022023p

Sayari, N., Sari, R., & Hammoudeh, S. (2018). The impact of value added components of GDP and FDI on economic freedom in Europe. Economic Systems, 42(2), 282-294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecosys.2017.03.003

Shah, W. U. H., Yan, H., Hao, G., Yasmeen, R., Padda, I. U. H., & Ullah, A. (2022). The impact of trade, financial development and government integrity on energy efficiency: An analysis from G7-Countries. Energy, 255, 124-507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2022.124507

Singh, D., & Gal, Z. (2020). Economic Freedom and its Impact on Foreign Direct Investment: Global Overview. Review of Economic Perspectives, 20(1), 73-90. https://doi.org/10.2478/revecp-2020-0004

Stević, Ž., Tanackov, I., Puška, A., Jovanov, G., Vasiljević, J., & Lojaničić, D. (2021). Development of modified SERVQUAL–MCDM model for quality determination in reverse logistics. Sustainability, 13(10), 5734. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105734

Tag, M. N., & Degirmen, S. (2022). Economic freedom and foreign direct investment: Are they related? Economic Analysis and Policy, 73, 737-752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2021.12.020

Tolcha, T. D., Tchouamou Njoya, E., Bråthen, S., & Holmgren, J. (2021). Effects of African aviation liberalisation on economic freedom, air connectivity and related economic consequences. Transport Policy, 110, 204-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.06.002

Tran D. V. (2019). A study on the impact of economic freedom on economic growth in ASEAN countries. BEH - Business and Economic Horizons, 15(3), 423-449. https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/301155/

Vidović, N., & Ritan, V. (2022). New approach to estimating macroeconomic determinants of informal employment. ECONOMICS - Innovative and Economics Research Journal, 10(2), 95-108. https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2022-0012

Xede, J., Simon Peter Dak-Adzaklo, C., Ofosu, E., & Wise Dodzidenu Adza, S. (2023). Competition laws, external financing and investment. Journal of International Financial Markets Institutions and Money, 82, 101700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2022.101700

Xu, T. (2019). Economic freedom and bilateral direct investment. Economic Modelling, 78, 172–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2018.09.017

Yalçınkaya Koyuncu, J. & Ünal, H. S. (2019). The Impact of Economic Freedom on the Shadow Economy: Panel Analysis. Sosyal Bilimler Metinleri, 2019 (2), 35-46.

Zahid, R. M. A., & Simga-Mugan, C. (2019). An analysis of IFRS and SME-IFRS adoption determinants: A worldwide study. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 55(2), 391-408. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496x.2018.1500890

Downloads

Published

2023-06-16

How to Cite

Štilić, A., Mastilo, A. ., Vuković, K. ., & Mastilo, D. (2023). INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH: EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC FREEDOMS ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ATTRACTION. ECONOMICS - INNOVATIVE AND ECONOMICS RESEARCH JOURNAL, 11(1), 29–44. https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2023-0013