Yolsuzluk Algısının Ulusal Mutluluğa Etkisinde Ekonomik Özgürlüğün Aracı Rolü: Dünya Ülkeleri Örneği

Öz

Ekonomik özgürlük kavramı, bir ulustaki vatandaşların özgürce ekonomik eylemde bulunma durumunu ifade etmektedir. Ekonomik özgürlük, ekonomik bir sistemin yapısını belirler. Ulusal mutluluk ise vatandaşların kendi yaşamlarına ilişkin puanlarına dayalı ulusal mutluluk halini ifade etmektedir. Bu mutluluk ise çeşitli yaşam kalitesi faktörleriyle de ilişkilendirilmektedir. Hükümete olan güven diğer bir deyişle yolsuzluk algısı ise ulusal mutluluğun üzerinde etkili olmakla beraber ulusal mutluluğun da ölçümünde kullanılan faktörlerden birisidir. Bu çalışmada yolsuzluk algısının ulusal mutluluğa etkisi incelenmiş, ekonomik özgürlüğün bu iki değişken arasında aracı bir etkisinin bulunup bulunmadığına bakılmıştır. Bu bağlamda Uluslararası Şeffaflık Örgütü tarafından sunulan Yolsuzluk Algısı İndeksi, Birleşmiş Milletler Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Çözümleri Ağı tarafından sunulan Dünya Mutluluk İndeksi ve Heritage Foundation tarafından sunulan Ekonomik Özgürlük İndeksinin 2012 ve 2020 yılları arasındaki skorlarının ortalaması ele alınmıştır. Çok Değişkenli Regresyon Analizi ve Sobel Testi uygulanarak 150 ülke üzerinde yapılan bu çalışmada elde edilen sonuçlara göre yolsuzluk algısının ulusal mutlulukla ilişkili olduğu, bu ilişkide ise ekonomik özgürlüğün aracı bir etkisi olduğuna ulaşılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Ulusal mutluluk
• yolsuzluk
• ekonomik özgürlük
• aracılık analizi

The Mediator Role of Economic Freedom in the Effect of Corruption Perception on National Happiness: A Case of World Countries

Öz

The concept of economic freedom refers to the state of citizens in a nation to take economic action freely. Economic freedom determines the structure of an economic system. On the other hand, national happiness refers to the national happiness value based on the scores of citizens regarding their own lives. This happiness is also associated with various quality of life factors. Trust in the government, in other words, the perception of corruption, is one of the factors used in the measurement of national happiness as well as being effective on national happiness. In this study, the effect of corruption perception on national happiness was investigated and it was examined whether there was a mediating effect of economic freedom between these two variables. In this context, the mean scores of the Perceptions of Corruption Index presented by Transparency International, the World Happiness Index presented by the United Nations, and the Economic Freedom Index presented by the Heritage Foundation between 2012 and 2020 are discussed. According to the results obtained in this study, which was conducted on 150 countries by applying Linear Regression Analysis and Sobel Test, it was found that the perception of corruption is related to national happiness, and economic freedom has a mediating effect in this relationship.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• National happiness
• corruption
• economic freedom
• mediation analysis

Kaynakça

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