O Impacto da liberdade econômica no índice de desenvolvimento econômico

Abstract

The present work seeks to identify the effects of indices associated with greater economic freedom, produced by the Heritage Foundation, on the Human Development Index (HDI) in Latin America from 2013 to 2019. In a panel data structure, the three typical models for the estimation exercise were used (Pooled, Fixed Effects and Random Effects), considering as independent variable both the total index of economic freedom and its disaggregated form, represented by twelve variables corresponding to Rule of Law, Government Size, Regulatory Efficiency and Market Opening. As a result, no estimates for the total index were significant, and the Chow, Hausman, and LM tests indicated that the Fixed Effects model was optimal. Thus, for the disaggregated form and considering time fixed effects, it is worth mentioning the judicial effectiveness and investment freedom indexes, whose 1 p.p. increase corresponded to a positive and statistically significant average variation of 0.1% and 0.2% in the HDI, respectively. Such findings suggest a relationship of indicators of economic freedom, through the variables - property rights, governmental integrity, legal effectiveness and fiscal health - with the improvement of well-being in the countries, providing evidence for the governments in the elaboration and implementation of public policies, in their development agendas.