Improving the quality of life in developing economies, beyond the quantitative growth of macro variables, requires a transition from traditional patterns to efficient institutional structures and knowledge - based production capacities . This study aims to explain the mechanism of the impact of economic complexity on the quality of life, and tests the moderating role of "economic freedom" in this regard. To this end, using the dynamic panel data approach and the generalized method of moments ( GMM ), the research model is estimated for a spatial domain including 25 selected leading countries in science production according to the scimago database during the period 2012 - 2024 . Empirical findings show that the quality of life in these countries is path-dependent and time-dynamic. The results of the model estimation confirm that economic complexity, government size, especially the judicial structure and the security of property rights have positive and significant effects on improving the quality of life. An important finding in this study is the positive significance of the interactive effect of economic complexity with economic freedom; this means that complex and diverse production structures lead to enhanced productivity and improved quality of life only in the context of economic freedom .