Does Colonization Affect Growth? An Empirical Comparative Study of Nine Asian Countries

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of economic growth in nine Asian ‎countries during two observation periods, namely from 1976 to 2021 for absolute convergence ‎and from 2002 to 2021 for conditional convergence. The analysis employed three types: Pooled ‎OLS, Fixed Effects (FEM) model, and Random Effects (REM) model. The results of this study's ‎analysis indicate that government consumption, the ratio of exports to imports, and population ‎have a significant influence on GDP growth per capita. Moreover, the existence of absolute and ‎conditional convergence in several time periods explains the relationship with economic growth. ‎The interaction between colonialism and the export-import ratio showed a significant positive ‎influence, while the interaction with the rule of law showed a significant negative impact. The ‎policy recommendations of this study are that we must continue to improve the efficiency of ‎government spending, strategic investments in productive sectors, and legal reforms to create a ‎conducive investment environment. This research underscores the need to expand the scope of ‎data and adopt a more comprehensive methodology to investigate the dynamics of achieving ‎sustainable economic growth in the future‎.