Economic freedom, foreign direct investment, and economic growth: The role of sub-components of freedom

Abstract

This study investigates the causality relationships among the economic freedom, foreign direct investment (FDI), and economic growth for top FDI attracting countries during 1995–2019. Apart from the previous studies, we examine these three sets of causal links simultaneously and use the panel Granger causality test of Kόnya [2006. “Exports and Growth: Granger Causality Analysis on OECD Countries with a Panel Data Approach.” Economic Modelling 23: 978–992], which considers heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependency across panel members. The findings provide weak evidence for the causal links between economic freedom, FDI, and economic growth for the overall score of economic freedom index. We also conduct causality tests for freedom vs. FDI, freedom vs. growth, and FDI vs. growth by using sub-components of the freedom index and reveal too many causality linkages among these variables. Thereby, we conclude that the direction of causality seems to be country and economic freedom indicator specific. These results have important implications for policymakers.