Validity of the Threshold Hypothesis: Panel Data Analysis for the Fragile Five

Öz

There are many criticisms about accepting economic growth as an indicator of welfare, which is used to determine the development level of countries and evaluate their economic performance. One of these criticisms belongs to Max-Neef. Max-Neef put forward the Threshold Hypothesis to determine the relationship between growth and social welfare. Accordingly, it is argued that economic growth in a country provides an improvement in the quality of life up to a certain threshold, but after exceeding the threshold level, the increase in economic growth may have a detrimental effect on the quality of life. In this study, the validity of the Threshold Hypothesis was tested for the years 1990-2022 in Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia, India and South Africa, called the Fragile Five. While the Social Progress Index (SPI) was preferred as the dependent variable in the analysis because it is more comprehensive than other development indices. GDP, GDP2 and GDP3 were used as the independent variables, thus aiming to determine the relationship between the variables. The analysis concluded that SPI and GDP increased together up to a certain level, but after a threshold, SPI decreased while GDP increased. Based on this, it has been determined that the Threshold Hypothesis is valid for the countries in question. Based on this, it has been determined that the Threshold Hypothesis is valid for the Fragile Five countries.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Threshold Hypothesis
• Growth
• Income Inequality
• Fragile Five
• Panel Data Analysis.

Eşik Hipotezinin Geçerliliği: Kırılgan Beşli İçin Panel Veri Analizi

Öz

Ülkelerin gelişmişlik düzeyinin belirlenmesinde ve iktisadi performanslarının değerlendirilmesinde kullanılan iktisadi büyümenin refah göstergesi olarak kabul edilmesine yönelik pek çok eleştiri mevcuttur. Bu eleştirilerden biri Max-Neef’e aittir. Max-Neef, büyüme ve toplumsal refah arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenmesine yönelik olarak Eşik Hipotezini ortaya koymuştur. Buna göre bir ülkede iktisadi büyümenin belli bir eşiğe kadar yaşam kalitesinde bir iyileşme sağladığı, ancak eşik düzeyinin aşılmasından sonra iktisadi büyümedeki artışın yaşam kalitesi üzerinde bozucu etkiye sahip olabileceği ileri sürülmektedir Bu çalışmada Kırılgan Beşli olarak adlandırılan Brezilya, Türkiye, Endonezya, Hindistan ve Güney Afrika’da 1990-2022 yılları için Eşik Hipotezinin geçerliliği test edilmiştir. Analizde bağımlı değişken olarak diğer gelişmişlik endekslerine kıyasla daha kapsamlı olmasından dolayı Sosyal Gelişmişlik Endeksi (SPI) tercih edilirken, bağımsız değişken olarak GSYH, GSYH2 ve GSYH3 kullanılmış böylece değişkenler arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenmesi hedeflenmiştir. Yapılan analizde belli bir düzeye kadar SPI ve GSYH’nin birlikte arttığı ancak bir eşikten sonra GSYH artarken SPI’nin düştüğü sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Buradan hareketle Kırılgan Beşli ülkeleri için Eşik Hipotezinin geçerli olduğu tespit edilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Eşik Hipotezi
• Büyüme
• Gelir Eşitsizliği
• Kırılgan Beşli
• Panel Veri Analizi

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