Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Growth and Economic Freedom: A Literature Survey

Year 2018, Volume: 68 Issue: 2, 301 - 336, 21.12.2018

Burcu Şenalp

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to survey the literature on the relationship between foreign direct investment, economic freedom and economic growth. For several years, with regard to the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, there has been a tendency to draw attention to specific elements such as technological development, the stock of human capital, market size, economic distance/transport cost and factor costs. However, the potential other factors such as economic freedom as an institutional element seem to have been relegated to second place, and even ignored by some investigators. In the present survey, focusing on economic freedom, shows that it may have an influence on FDI inflows as well as on economic growth. Therefore, allowing for the institutional approach, this study can shed light on the potential interactions between economic freedom and foreign direct investment/economic growth. All the studies that the present paper reviews have suggested that FDI affects economic growth in two ways: positively or negatively. Those effects based mostly on initial effects which are briefly mentioned above. On the other hand, some other studies show that economic freedom is an explanatory variable for direct cross-border investments. Finally, the papers surveyed show that economic freedom causes growth.

Keywords

Foreign direct investment, economic freedom, economic growth

Doğrudan Yabancı Sermaye, Ekonomik Büyüme ve Ekonomik Özgürlük: Bir Literatür Araştırması

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı doğrudan yabancı yatırımlar, ekonomik özgürlük ve ekonomik büyüme arasındaki ilişkileri ele alan literatürü incelemektir. Uzun yıllardan beri, doğrudan yabancı yatırımların (DYY) belirleyici unsuru olarak teknolojik gelişmeler, beşeri sermaye stoğu, piyasanın boyutu, ulaşım maliyetleri ve üretim faktörleri maliyetleri gibi çeşitli faktörlerin üzerinde durulmuştur. Bu faktörler genel olarak birincil etkenler olarak ele alınmaktadır. Ancak, DYY’nin belirleyici faktörü olarak ele alınan birincil unsurlar dışında, ekonomik özgürlük gibi, çoğu zaman ikincil bir unsur olarak değerlendirilebilecek, kimi kurumsal yaklaşımlar da DYY’i etkileyebilmektedir. Bahsi geçen kurumsal etken olarak ekonomik özgürlük, birçok araştırmacının gözünden kaçmakta ya da değerlendirme dışı bırakılmaktadır. Bu çalışma, ekonomik özgürlük kavramına odaklanmakta ve çeşitli kurumlar, örneğin Fraser Enstitüsü ve Heritage Vakfı, tarafından tanımlanan ekonomik özgürlüğün, DYY akışına ve hatta ekonomik büyümeye etki edebileceğini gösteren literatürü ele almaktadır. Bu kurumsal yaklaşım sayesinde, ekonomik özgürlük ve DYY/ekonomik büyüme arasındaki potansiyel ilişkiye ışık tutulmak istenmektedir. Bu kapsamda, çalışma içerisinde yer alan makaleler, DYY ve ekonomik büyüme arasında hem pozitif hem de negatif yönlü bir ilişki olduğunu vurgulaktadır. İki yönlü etkiye, ağırlıklı olarak birincil etkenlerin neden olduğu açıkça görülmektedir. Diğer çalışmalar ise, ekonomik özgürlüğün DYY için açıklayıcı bir değişken olduğunu göstermiştir. Ve son olarak, ekonomik özgürlük, büyüme ile ilişkilidir.

Keywords

Doğrudan yabancı sermaye, ekonomik özgürlük, ekonomik büyüme

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