DOES TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH AMELIORATE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STANCE? NEW FINDINGS FROM CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

Abstract

National income calculations may not include knowledge that directly concerns the socioeconomic stance in an economy. Knowledge plays a significant role in promoting the economic growth of a country; however, its socio-economic role has received little attention in the literature. Total factor productivity, which is the main source of long-term economic prosperity, expresses the increase in productivity in all production factors. This paper attempts to quantify the effects of total factor productivity growth on economic prosperity. The analysis is conducted for the 2007-2020 period and 18 Central Eastern Europe countries. The “Legatum Prosperity Index” is utilized in the econometric analysis, in line with the purpose of the study. Results of the study with panel ordinary least squares, panel fixed-effects, panel random effects, panel-corrected standard errors (robustness check), and system-generalized method of moments (robustness check) confirm that total factor productivity growth positively correlated with economic prosperity.