The Relationship between Corruption, Innovation and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from OECD Countries
The phenomenon of corruption which has significant effects on the economic growth process and innovation capacity of countries is one of the frequently discussed topics especially in the economics literature in recent years. From this point, the purpose of this study is to contribute to determining the relationship between corruption, innovation, and economic growth. To achieve this purpose, panel data analysis is carried out using data from a total of 37 OECD members for the period 2007-2019. In this context, firstly unit root tests are performed, and then panel cointegration tests are employed to determine the long-term relationship between the variables. Long-run coefficients are estimated by using FMOLS and DOLS methods. The findings obtained from the analysis show that there is a cointegration relationship between corruption, innovation, and economic growth. Accordingly, corruption and innovation have a positive and significant impact on economic growth. In addition, the rise in the corruption index has a positive and significant effect on innovation. In other words, the increase in the corruption index (decrease in the perception of corruption) contributes positively to both innovation and economic growth process in the related countries.