Are international rankings good predictors of economic growth?

Résumé

As has been seen in various empirical studies, it is practically impossible to include in the same model all the significant variables that directly impact the economic growth of different countries, as their diversity is immense, and their significance is sometimes not always verified. The use of indexes based on scores and on scientific literature that aims to measure various phenomena has democratized access not only to the understanding of the phenomenon that is intended to be highlighted but also to the use of these scores as variables in empirical studies for the most varied purposes, allowing the withdrawal faster and more accurate completions. This doctoral thesis aims to use some of these indices as dependent variables, to understand whether the progression in their scores has a positive impact on economic growth, as assured by the authors of these indicators. Throughout this thesis, we reach numerous and important conclusions, but there is no doubt that progress in these scores can emerge as a facilitator of economic growth for the countries and for the time intervals considered.