Nexus between corruption, market capitalization, exports, FDI, and country’s wealth: A pre-global financial crisis study

Abstract

The study investigates the impact of corruption, market capitalization, exports, and foreign direct investment on the wealth of 178 countries worldwide. Thus, the paper uses univariate and multivariate regressions to observe the nexus among exports, foreign direct investment, market capitalization, corruption, and wealth of nations. The findings indicate that corruption poses a significant hindrance to prosperity and development, as evaluated with respect to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Additionally, the results showed that the world’s poorest nations are becoming less corrupt while the wealthiest ones are growing more corrupt. The paper also concludes that exports and market capitalization are critical for prosperity and development when combined with lower corruption levels. Furthermore, the analysis also suggests that inbound foreign direct investment favors the development of emerging countries. Surprisingly, market capitalization and exports had little impact on wealth of countries before the crisis period. Moreover, integrity also fosters economic growth. Overall, the study concludes that the causes of wealth are country-specific. AcknowledgmentsI thank the editor and the reviewers for the helpful comments and suggestions that significantly enhanced this work. The usual disclaimer applies.

Keywords

• best linear unbiased estimates
• classification of economies
• corruption perception index
• economic growth
• globalization
• macroeconomic variables