Crude Oil Imports and Growth

Petroleum is an energy source that has been considered as a crucial variable in defining the growth differences between countries, especially since the 20thcentury. According to the Factor Endowment (Heckscher-Ohlin) Theory in the international economics literature, a country has a comparative advantage in the production of those goods in which its abundant production factor is extensively used. Thus, while exporting those goods on which the country specializes, it imports those goods that are scarce.This theory basically emphasizes the economic growth of a country maintained by exporting those goods, that are produced in the sectors at which the country specializes in utilizing its abundantly endowed natural resources, to the countries where such resources are scarce. Nowadays, some countries are crude petroleum exporters, whereas some others are importers.In this context, non-petroleum-exporting countries are importing petroleum for the continuity of their production process.There is an intense relationship between petroleum imports, which ensure the continuity of growth and growth rates.In this regard, the VAR (Vector Autoregression) model is utilized in the study over the period of 1997-2017 to analyze the extent of the relationship between the amount of imported petroleum and economic growth in Turkey. In this context; Granger Causality, Johansen Cointegration, Variance Decomposition, and Impulse-Response Analyses are performed.As a result of the conducted analyses, a long-term relationship between the variables is detected, and a unilateral causality running from economic growth towards petroleum imports relationship is found