Revista OEconomica

Tudor Constantin BĂLAN - Cycles of Freedom: Are Our Rights Today Permanently Secured, or Are We in a Transitional Phase? The Cases of Great Britain, the United States, and Russia

Marius-Cristian PANĂ, Adela BĂLAN - Economic Freedom and Prosperity: A Comparative Analysis of Welfare Determinants at the International Level

Ana Octavia ALBU - When Accurate Forecasts Still Produce Waste: Demand Shocks and Over-Forecasting Risk in Food Retail

Adrian-Ioan DAMOC - The Persian Pivot and the Reconfiguration of Geopolitical Realism: Iran and Venezuela in Strategic Competition among the United States, China, and Russia

Emmanuel Olusegun STOBER - Coercive Diplomacy in the Gulf and the Limits of the Strike-Forward Strategy: Toward a Middle-Power Coalition for Regional Stability

Sorin-Nicolae CURCĂ - On the Informational Entropy of Economic Shock

Florin DĂNESCU - The Banking Sector as Critical Infrastructure in the Logic of Hybrid Conflict: Post-2014 Legislative Convergence in Central and Eastern Europe and the Case of Romania

Mihai LĂCĂTUŞ - GDP as a Means, Not an End: Inequality as the Missing Variable in Fiscal Policy Design – A 60-Country Analysis of Economic Growth and Subjective Well-Being

Articles on Issue Theme

Marius-Cristian PANĂ

Academia de Studii Economice din Bucureşti

Adela BĂLAN

Academia de Studii Economice din Bucureşti

This article examines the relationship between economic freedom and the level of prosperity at the international level, offering a comparative perspective on eight representative economies over the period 2010-2023. Using empirical data and composite indices developed by the Heritage Foundation and the Fraser Institute, the study demonstrates that pillars such as the protection of property rights, monetary freedom, and openness to international trade exert a decisive influence on macroeconomic performance. The model highlights a significant positive correlation between the Economic Freedom Index (EFI) and key welfare indicators, including GDP per capita, the Human Development Index (HDI), and the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The research confirms the foundations of classical liberalism by evaluating how limiting government intervention and maintaining a robust legal framework stimulate innovation and stability, in contrast to the stagnating effects of corruption and protectionism. From this perspective, the results suggest that decision-makers should prioritize institutional reforms and governmental transparency as essential mechanisms for achieving sustainable prosperity and an improved quality of life.

ŒCONOMICA no. 1-2/2026

Keywords: economic freedom, economic development, economic institutions, Economic Freedom Index (EFI), Human Development Index (HDI), Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), economic prosperity

JEL: D72, E02, O11, O43, P14, P16

Economic Freedom and Prosperity: A Comparative Analysis of Welfare Determinants at the International Level

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