Does Economic Freedom Affect Stock Returns? (Case study: Selected Countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference)

Economic freedom or economic liberty is one of the instances of freedom which is a target intrinsically, and individuals and units make attempts to achieve. The liberalization of financial markets can have a different effect on economy. Several studies have indicated that economic liberalization has had a positive effect on developing economies by the reduction in capital expenditures, increase in profit-ability, and individuals’ investment. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of economic freedom on stock returns. The statistical population of this study is the selected countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) for the years 2001 to 2019, and is used in the statistical section of the Fraser Institute website and the World Bank website. In this study, the regression model of panel data was employed for data analysis. The research results show that the effect of the economic freedom variable is positive and significant on the stock price index and cash-on-cash return. At best, economic freedom can lead to increasing demand for stocks and, subsequently, raising the stock price index and cash-on-cash return. The government should provide a legal and regulatory framework to protect the rights of owners of assets and fair implementation of contracts, and facilitate access to sound money. It should also provide stable money and refrain from activities and interventions interfering in personal choices, exchanges and voluntary exchanges, and the free-dom to enter the competition in product and labour markets.