The effect of foreign direct capital investments on the growth of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) countries: A panel data analysis

Since the second half of the 20th century, the importance of foreign direct investments (FDI) has started to emerge in increasing company profits and in the growth of countries. Multinational companies reach much larger markets than the origin countries, thus increasing the growth and profitability of these companies. On the other hand, there are both fund transfers and technology and human capital flows to countries through FDI. In this way, host countries can realize their economic growth. Therefore, FDI affects and transforms a large part of a country's economy. In this study examined the characteristics, targets and potential cooperation areas of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) . ECO is a regional cooperation initiative that has been in an accelerating trend since the beginning of the 1990s, which includes important regional actors such as Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. The aim of the study is to analyze the relationship between economic growth and FDI in ECO member countries with panel data method. As a result of this study, it was observed that there is a positive relationship between FDI and economic growth in these countries. However, it has been observed that this effect is very low in countries with limited openness such as Uzbekistan. For this reason, it has been seen that the implementation of regulations that will contribute to the liberalization of capital in ECO member countries and the promotion of FDI in the legal framework will contribute much more to the economic development of these countries.