Energy exports, globalization and economic growth: The case of South Caucasus

We examine the effect of energy exports and globalization on economic growth using the bias-corrected least square dummy variable model in a panel of five South Caucasus countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Turkey) over the period of 1990–2009. We provide evidence that higher energy exports and globalization expand economic growth. Also, we find that higher economic, political and social integrations are associated with higher growth rates. Furthermore, we find that greater energy exports contribute to higher growth rates in the course of globalization. In particular, higher energy exports lead to higher growth rates in the period of increasing economic and political integration. We therefore emphasize that energy exports, global integration, and their interaction effects are important determinants of economic growth in the South Caucasus region.