TITLE:
Do Religious Freedom vis-a-vis Trade Openness Affect Economic Growth? A Cross-Country Empirical Investigation
AUTHORS:
Smruti Ranjan Behera, Tapas Mishra, Devi Prasad Dash
KEYWORDS:
Trade Openness, Religious Freedom, Cross-Country Growth, Method of Moments-Panel Quantile Regression, Economic Growth
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.13 No.1,
February
14,
2023
ABSTRACT: Does religious freedom steer economic growth
impact of trade-openness? This paper employs the method of moments-quantile
regression to panel data of 117 developed and developing countries to show that
countries that accommodate greater liberal religious beliefs enjoy, on average,
higher growth in per capita income via deeper trade openness. Empirical results
reveal that the dynamic nexus between trade and economic growth across
developing countries is subject to the institutional environment. Therefore,
results indicate that trade openness favours economic growth when institutional
quality improves.