Freedom to compete in the market: resources, processes, and resultsHerein we analyze three concepts of market competition. Although the different aspects of freedom can be appreciated in each one of them, they make an especial contribution to some of them. We propose that the ‘neoclassical general equilibrium’ chiefly contributes to the discussion of the outcomes of an economic activity; the ‘barriers to entry’ approach calls for a study of the resources necessary to compete; and the ‘competition as a process’ approach emphasizes the competitive activity itself. Moreover, as we move from the first onwards, enriching the meaning of competition, the possibility of losing opportunities to participate in the market becomes more evident. Entry and exit are part of the competitive process. Each concept of competition responds to theories that specify or allude to certain types and distribution of economic agents’ freedoms to manoeuvre. Throughout this study, we often quote Amartya Sen with the purpose of buildingbridges between the study of competition and the approach of ‘development as freedom. / Analizamos tres conceptos de competencia en el mercado. Aunque en cada uno de ellos se pueden apreciar las distintas facetas de la libertad, también aportan especialmente a alguna de ellas. Proponemos que el enfoque de «equilibrio general neoclásico» aporta principalmente a la discusión de los resultados de una actividad económica, el enfoque de las «barreras a la entrada» invita a estudiar los recursos necesarios para competir y el enfoque de la «competencia como proceso» pone el acento en la actividad competitiva misma. Además, conforme nos movemos del primero hacia los demás, enriqueciendo el significado de la competencia, se pone más en evidencia la existencia de pérdidas de oportunidades para participar en el mercado que provienen de la propia competencia económica. Cada concepto de competencia responde a teorías que especifican o aluden a ciertos tipos y distribución de márgenes de acción y de acceso a herramientas para competir. En todo el trabajo citamos a menudo a Amartya Sen con el fin de establecer puentes entre el estudio de la competencia y el enfoque del «desarrollo como libertad»

The literature addressing the resource curse has been extensive. Many studies have put forth theories to explain the curse, but these theories are often refuted by new studies. Recently, there has been a theory that natural resource abundance leads to decreased economic freedom, which causes slower economic growth. Many of these studies have using frequentist testing to arrive at their conclusions. Although frequentist testing is widely used, there are several drawbacks. In particular, there is no way of addressing model uncertainty. Unless a study is able to incorporate every significant explanatory variable, the results will suffer from omitted variable bias. Recently, researchers have been applying Bayesian statistics to address the problem of model uncertainty. In this study, we apply Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) to build a growth model, and see if natural resources have a negative effect on growth. We take the implementation of BMA a step further to see if there is an indirect negative effect of natural resources on economic freedom. However, contrary to previous studies, we were not able to find a negative relationship between resource abundance and economic freedom.

The paper examines significance of institutional environment for agricultural production. It adds to the extensive research of agricultural production functions. First, it reviews relevant theory of institutional economics that explains how institutions contribute to productivity in general, especially if interpreted as economic freedom. Then, a model of agricultural production is presented, which explains aggregate agricultural production using various inputs, as well as variables representing institutional environment. Results concerning elasticities of material inputs (land, labor, capital) are consistent with previous research. The paper proves some significance of institutional variables. Finally, it suggests some directions for further research.

Expanding on prior research into the state level causes of terrorism, I argue that state repression and limited state capacity reduces opportunities for non-violent political expression and increases the utility of terrorism. I also argue that economic freedom can is a form of political expression that can dissipate political grievances. While previous authors analyzed some of these variables separately using data on transnational attacks, I created a complete model incorporating the three categories of variables and tested my hypotheses using data that includes both domestic and transnational attacks. I use regression analysis for hypothesis testing and find support for the three primary contentions of this thesis and conclude that limits on political expression increase the likelihood nations will experienced increased levels of terrorism.

Air pollution (in terms of PM2.5) is severe in developing countries, and the rapid population growth accompanied by urbanization may limit their potential economic development. This paper aims to investigate if urbanization and economic freedom cause higher levels of PM2.5 in developing countries. By measuring the potential effect of economic freedom on PM2.5 with the Ease of Doing Business-score by the World Bank, a new measure is introduced to the research on socioeconomic factors’ influence on air pollution. It is done by running both fixed effects- and system GMM regressions on a panel consisting of 63 low- and lower-middle-income economies between 2010-2017. The results indicate that PM2.5 is insensitive to changes in both variables and that urbanization’s effect on PM2.5 depends on the level of economic freedom and vice versa. However, both estimators may suffer from bias, and thus, the real relationship of urbanization and economic freedom on PM2.5 remains uncertain.

Economic growth rate differs largely between different countries. There are many opinions on which factors really affect the rate of growth in different economies and this causes debates. The factors that affect economic growth include political systems, social settings, economic freedom, human capital and institutional organization. These factors affect not only productivity, but also efficiency. This thesis’ purpose is to investigate and explain the factors that affect economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Through use of a fixed effects regression model, a panel data investigation will be conducted, and an analysis will be presented in this thesis. By using secondary data for sub-Saharan African countries from reliable sources, the factors that affect economic growth on an annual basis from year 2006 to 2017 are examined. Growth in gross domestic product per individual (GDP per capita growth) is the dependent variable and represents economic growth. The independent variables which are believed to affect this growth are also given, and these include: population growth, foreign direct investment, level of corruption, democracy, life expectancy at birth, expected years of schooling and economic freedom. The findings estimate that some of the chosen variables, for example population growth and life expectancy at birth significantly affect economic growth and development in these countries. The rest of the independent variables have an impact on economic growth but are not statistically significant according to this study.

The research aims to investigate the relationship between economic freedom, political freedom and economic growth. The Arab Spring placed renewed interest on the topic of freedom, yet current economic conditions seemingly contradicted the established theory. The largest free economies were being outperformed by those with less political and economic freedom.Three objectives were specified to answer the research question. The first objective aimed to determine the association between economic freedom, political freedom and economic growth, for which Spearman’s correlation was used. The second objective aimed to investigate causal relationships between the variables, for which Granger’s causality was employed. The third objective aimed to examine complex relationships between the variables, for which vector autoregression was used.Economic growth was weakly correlated with the independent variables. Civil liberties, political rights and economic freedom, however, had strong correlations with each other. Economic freedom and economic growth had bi-directional Granger-causality. Political rights Granger-caused economic freedom whilst civil liberties Granger-caused political rights and economic freedom. Using vector autoregression, the model consisting of economic growth, economic freedom and civil liberties had the greatest explanatory power towards economic growth. Existing theory therefore remains valid: political freedom enhances economic freedom, which, in turn, enhances economic growth.The relationship between economic freedom, political freedom and economic growth / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

During the last 20 years there has been a rapid increase of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa. Through examination of published research, we discover that Chinese FDI does not appear to clearly follow traditional assumptions of FDI. Especially in relation to economic freedom. This uncertainty, combined with lacking empirical research and limited available data in the region, led us to the aim of this work. We have set out to examine whether economic freedom is a determinant of Chinese FDI in Africa. For this purpose, a biennial panel data study for the years 2009 to 2019 was constructed. Fixed effects models using indices for economic freedom and relevant control variables are employed. The results show that economic freedom as defined by the Fraser Institute has a negative effect on Chinese FDI. Further, high levels of regulation reduces Chinese FDI. These findings stand in contrast to traditional theory on FDI determinants.

Thesis (LLM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Although the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 does not specifically make reference to the phrase “separation of powers”, the constitutional scheme, however, subscribes to the doctrine of separation of powers. The manner in which the Constitution allocates powers and functions to the different organs of the state is indicative of the application of the doctrine of separation of powers. This study was aimed at investigating whether the separation of powers principle was not trampled upon in the light of the decision in EFF2. The study finds that there was judicial overreach in EEF2. The majority judgment encroached into the exclusive domain of Parliament. The court, in exercising its checks and balances role, failed to observe its own constitutional limits by dictating how Parliament should run its affairs. The study recommends that courts must respect the duties and functions of other organs of the state. Courts must understand that each organ of the state has a duty to perform. Only when an organ of the state has performed a duty or function in a manner that offends or violates the Constitution can the court intervene.

Firms use former government officials (FGOs) on the board of directors to create external linkage with the government. I examine investors’ perception of FGOs on the board of directors and how institutional environments affect it. Using a large sample of 23,444 hand-collected observations from 31 non-U.S. countries, I show that political directors (PDs) are associated with improved investors’ perception. Drawing from political science literature, I theorize and show that former senior bureaucrats (SBDs), but not former ministers (MDs) or government advisors (ADs), drive the improved investors’ perception. Furthermore, I show that stronger institutional environments, measured by economic freedom, lead to less improved investors’ perception of PDs. Here too SBDs drives my results associated with and economic freedom, but not MDs or ADs, lending support to my initial findings.