AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ ÜLKELERİNDE EKONOMİK ÖZGÜRLÜK VE ALT BİLEŞENLERİNİN STOKASTİK YAKINSAMA ANALİZİ

Öz

Bu çalışmada, Avrupa Birliği (AB) ülkelerinde ekonomik özgürlük düzeylerinin ve alt bileşenlerinin birbirine yakınsayıp yakınsamadığını analiz etmek amacıyla stokastik yakınsama yaklaşımı kullanılmaktadır. Ekonomik özgürlük, bireylerin mülkiyet haklarını koruma, serbest piyasa yapısını güçlendirme ve devlet müdahalesini sınırlama gibi unsurları içeren çok boyutlu bir kavramdır. Bu bağlamda çalışmada, ekonomik özgürlük indeksinin yanı sıra Fraser Enstitüsü tarafından tanımlanan beş temel bileşen olan devletin büyüklüğü, hukuk sistemi ve mülkiyet hakları, sağlam para, uluslararası ticaret özgürlüğü ve düzenleme başlıkları da ayrı ayrı ele alınmaktadır. Ampirik analizde, yatay kesit bağımlılığı sorununu göz önünde bulunduran ve Pesaran (2007) tarafından geliştirilen panel birim kök testi uygulanmaktadır. Analiz sonuçları, AB ülkeleri arasında hem ekonomik özgürlük indeksi hem de büyük ölçüde alt bileşenleri açısından uzun dönemde yakınsama olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Bu bulgu, AB ülkelerinin ekonomik özgürlük politikalarında benzeşme eğiliminde olduğunu ve entegrasyon sürecinin bu alanda da etkili olduğunu göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Ekonomik özgürlük
• Panel Birim Kök
• Yatay Kesit Bağımlılığı
• Yakınsama

A STOCHASTIC CONVERGENCE ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM AND ITS SUBCOMPONENTS IN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

Öz

This study employs a stochastic convergence approach to examine whether the levels of economic freedom and its subcomponents converge across European Union (EU) member states. Economic freedom is a multidimensional concept encompassing the protection of property rights, the promotion of free markets, and the limitation of government intervention. In this context, the analysis considers not only the overall economic freedom index but also its five key components as defined by the Fraser Institute: Size of Government, Legal System & Property Rights, Sound Money, Freedom to Trade Internationally, and Regulation. To account for cross-sectional dependence among countries, the empirical analysis applies the panel unit root test developed by Pesaran (2007). The results provide evidence of convergence in economic freedom levels among EU countries over the long run, both in terms of the overall index and most of its subcomponents. These findings suggest that EU member states tend to harmonize their economic freedom policies, indicating that the process of European integration also fosters convergence in institutional quality and market-oriented reforms.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Economic Freedom
• Panel Unit Root
• Cross Section Dependency
• Convergence

Kaynakça

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