Does economic freedom lead or lag economic growth? evidence from Bangladesh

Despite a drop of 0.2 points in 2015 in the Index of Economic Freedom, Bangladesh is awarded an upgraded economic status by the World Bank due to a consistent and boosted economic growth. However, there is a debate as to whether Economic Freedom leads or lags economic growth. Using ARDL approach and taking Bangladesh as a case study, this paper investigates whether economic freedom leads or lags economic growth in Bangladesh during the period 1995 - 2015. This study chooses Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom as it is widely accepted. The results tend to indicate that Economic Freedom does clearly lead and enhance economic growth in the context of Bangladesh during the period under review.