Essays in Economic Development and Political Empowerment

Abstract

This dissertation is composed of three unrelated chapters, all of which are on different topics. Chapter 1: T The Effect of Economic Freedom on Economic Growth: A Case Study of the Middle East Region. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of economic freedom on foreign direct investment inflow and economic growth to countries of the Middle East Chapter 2: Do the poor revolt? A study on Income and Political Freedom in the context of the Egyptian Revolution. The study revisits the income-political freedom connection using data from Egyptian nationals in 2008, The study investigates the relationship between an individual's income level and demand for democracy using an Ordered Logistic regression. Chapter 3: Women Empowerment and Its Impact on Economic Growth: A Study of Latin America and the Caribbean Region. This quantitative study investigated how empowering women helped address and improve economic challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean. A secondary purpose was to determine relationships between women’s empowerment and economic growth and to see the effects of any variables of interest on economic growth.