An Empirical Investigation on Growth and Institutional Structure Relations in Central Asian and Caucasian Countries

Abstract

Whether economic and political institutions have an impact on countries' economic growth performances is one of the important research topics discussed in the literature. Former socialist Central Asian and Caucasian countries trying to adapt into market economy have not yet completed their transition processes, but they have managed to grow their economies in comparison to previous periods. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between the growth performances and institutional structures of the Central Asian and Caucasian countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan between the years 2000-2018 by using the decision variables of civil rights, economic freedom, political stability, rule of law and GDP per capita. According to the analysis results obtained via Grey Relational Analysis method by assigning equal importance to all variables, Kazakhstan is found to be the highest-ranking country among all examined countries for all periods. The authoritarian tendencies that these countries have shown during their market economy transitions with regards to matters related to institutional structure have been found to be the reason why countries' economic efforts have failed to yield results.