Re-Examining Economic Growth: A World, Regional and Country Analysis

Resumen

The evaluation of the main determinants of economic growth is still an open question. The previous literature has found different determinants depending of the region or the income level. In this study, it is re-evaluated the main determinants of economic growth with a panel data model with a sample of 81 countries and five years average annual data spanning from 1980 to 2019 with macroeconomic and governance variables. Also, the model is re-estimated only in the case of the Latin American and Caribbean region with a sample of 20 countries over the same period of time and in the case of Guatemala. The study found empirical evidence that the main determinants of economic growth are human capital, physical capital, savings, exports, openness to trade, foreign direct investment, the rate of population growth, government spending, and the initial level of GDP per capita.