IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/compes/v57y2015i4p598-622.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Financial Development and Economic Growth in the MENA Region

Author

Listed:
  • Hassan Hamadi

    (Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Notre Dame University-Louaize, Zouk Mosbeh, Keserwan 72-Zouk Mikeal, Lebanon. E-mails: hhamadi@ndu.edu.lb; cbassil@ndu.edu.lb)

  • Charbel Bassil

    (Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Notre Dame University-Louaize, Zouk Mosbeh, Keserwan 72-Zouk Mikeal, Lebanon. E-mails: hhamadi@ndu.edu.lb; cbassil@ndu.edu.lb)

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of stock markets and banks on economic growth in the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. The sample comprises a panel data from 13 MENA countries over the period 1988–2009. This paper uses recent GMM techniques developed for dynamic panels. The findings suggest that stock markets and banks positively influence economic growth in the MENA countries only during periods of stability. Our results are robust to several specifications and potential biases induced by simultaneity, omitted variables and unobserved country specific effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Hassan Hamadi & Charbel Bassil, 2015. "Financial Development and Economic Growth in the MENA Region," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 57(4), pages 598-622, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:compes:v:57:y:2015:i:4:p:598-622
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ces/journal/v57/n4/pdf/ces201521a.pdf
    File Function: Link to full text PDF
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ces/journal/v57/n4/full/ces201521a.html
    File Function: Link to full text HTML
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Obstfeld, Maurice, 1994. "Risk-Taking, Global Diversification, and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1310-1329, December.
    2. Valerie R. Bencivenga & Bruce D. Smith, 1991. "Financial Intermediation and Endogenous Growth," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 195-209.
    3. Alonso-Borrego, Cesar & Arellano, Manuel, 1999. "Symmetrically Normalized Instrumental-Variable Estimation Using Panel Data," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 17(1), pages 36-49, January.
    4. Pejman Abedifar & Philip Molyneux & Amine Tarazi, 2013. "Risk in Islamic Banking," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 17(6), pages 2035-2096.
    5. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    6. Beck, Thorsten & Levine, Ross, 2004. "Stock markets, banks, and growth: Panel evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 423-442, March.
    7. Sachs, J-D & Warner, A-M, 1995. "Natural Resource Abundance and Economic Growth," Papers 517a, Harvard - Institute for International Development.
    8. Greenwood, Jeremy & Smith, Bruce D., 1997. "Financial markets in development, and the development of financial markets," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 145-181, January.
    9. Ross Levine & Norman Loayza & Thorsten Beck, 2002. "Financial Intermediation and Growth: Causality and Causes," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Leonardo Hernández & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Se (ed.),Banking, Financial Integration, and International Crises, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 031-084, Central Bank of Chile.
    10. Levine, Ross & Zervos, Sara, 1998. "Stock Markets, Banks, and Economic Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 537-558, June.
    11. Arestis, Philip & Demetriades, Panicos O & Luintel, Kul B, 2001. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: The Role of Stock Markets," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 33(1), pages 16-41, February.
    12. King, Robert G. & Levine, Ross, 1993. "Finance, entrepreneurship and growth: Theory and evidence," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 513-542, December.
    13. Levine, Ross, 1991. "Stock Markets, Growth, and Tax Policy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1445-1465, September.
    14. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    15. Richard Blundell & Stephen Bond & Frank Windmeijer, 2000. "Estimation in dynamic panel data models: improving on the performance of the standard GMM estimator," IFS Working Papers W00/12, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    16. Levine, Ross, 1998. "The Legal Environment, Banks, and Long-Run Economic Growth," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 30(3), pages 596-613, August.
    17. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1995. "What Do We Know about Capital Structure? Some Evidence from International Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1421-1460, December.
    18. Levine, Ross, 1999. "Law, Finance, and Economic Growth," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 8(1-2), pages 8-35, January.
    19. Im, Kyung So & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Shin, Yongcheol, 2003. "Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 53-74, July.
    20. Nili, Masoud & Rastad, Mahdi, 2007. "Addressing the growth failure of the oil economies: The role of financial development," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(5), pages 726-740, February.
    21. David Roodman, 2009. "A Note on the Theme of Too Many Instruments," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 71(1), pages 135-158, February.
    22. Kyung‐So Im & Junsoo Lee & Margie Tieslau, 2005. "Panel LM Unit‐root Tests with Level Shifts," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 67(3), pages 393-419, June.
    23. G. S. Maddala & Shaowen Wu, 1999. "A Comparative Study of Unit Root Tests with Panel Data and a New Simple Test," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 61(S1), pages 631-652, November.
    24. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2010. "Financial Institutions and Markets across Countries and over Time: The Updated Financial Development and Structure Database," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 24(1), pages 77-92, January.
    25. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    26. Beck, Thorsten & Levine, Ross & Loayza, Norman, 2000. "Finance and the sources of growth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 261-300.
    27. Levin, Andrew & Lin, Chien-Fu & James Chu, Chia-Shang, 2002. "Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-24, May.
    28. Rousseau, P. L. & Wachtel, P., 2000. "Equity markets and growth: Cross-country evidence on timing and outcomes, 1980-1995," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(12), pages 1933-1957, December.
    29. repec:bla:obuest:v:61:y:1999:i:0:p:631-52 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Ben Naceur, Samy & Ghazouani, Samir & Omran, Mohammed, 2008. "Does stock market liberalization spur financial and economic development in the MENA region?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 673-693, December.
    31. Bencivenga Valerie R. & Smith Bruce D. & Starr Ross M., 1995. "Transactions Costs, Technological Choice, and Endogenous Growth," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 153-177, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chandrashekar Raghutla & Krishna Reddy Chittedi, 2021. "Financial development, real sector and economic growth: Evidence from emerging market economies," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 6156-6167, October.
    2. Chroufa, Mohamed Ali & Chtourou, Nouri, 2023. "Financial development threshold effect on wealth inequality-economic growth nexus: Evidence from MENA economies," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    3. Charfeddine, Lanouar & Kahia, Montassar, 2019. "Impact of renewable energy consumption and financial development on CO2 emissions and economic growth in the MENA region: A panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 198-213.
    4. Rihem Braham & Christian Peretti & Lotfi Belkacem, 2022. "On the Measurement and Extent of Banks’ Political Connection in the Middle East and North Africa Region," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 64(4), pages 606-645, December.
    5. Amar Anwar & Ichiro Iwasaki, 2023. "The finance–growth nexus in the Middle East and Africa: A comparative meta‐analysis," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 4655-4683, October.
    6. Mohammad Mafizur Rahman & Istihak Rayhan & Nahid Sultana, 2023. "How Does Electricity Affect Economic Growth? Examining the Role of Government Policy to Selected Four South Asian Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-17, February.
    7. Mrutyunjaya SAHOO & Praveen SAHU, 2023. "Does the effectiveness of money supply and foreign direct investment determine the industrial growth performance in India?," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(2(635), S), pages 83-102, Summer.
    8. Alssadek, Marwan & Benhin, James, 2023. "Natural resource curse: A literature survey and comparative assessment of regional groupings of oil-rich countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    9. Ntarmah, Albert Henry & Kong, Yusheng & Cobbinah, Eric & Gyan, Micheal Kobina & Manu, Emmanuel Kwaku, 2020. "Analysis of the Responsiveness of Environmental Sustainability to Non-Performing Loans in Africa," Asian Journal of Applied Economics, Kasetsart University, Center for Applied Economics Research, vol. 27(2).
    10. Yıldırım, Seda & Gedikli, Ayfer & Erdoğan, Seyfettin & Yıldırım, Durmuş Çağrı, 2020. "Natural resources rents-financial development nexus: Evidence from sixteen developing countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    11. IWASAKI, Ichiro & ONO, Shigeki, 2023. "Economic Development and the Finance-Growth Nexus : A Meta-Analytic Approach," CEI Working Paper Series 2023-06, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thorsten Beck, 2009. "The Econometrics of Finance and Growth," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Terence C. Mills & Kerry Patterson (ed.), Palgrave Handbook of Econometrics, chapter 25, pages 1180-1209, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Beck, Thorsten & Levine, Ross, 2004. "Stock markets, banks, and growth: Panel evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 423-442, March.
    3. Beck, Thorsten & Levine, Ross, 2001. "Stock markets, banks, and growth : correlation or causality?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2670, The World Bank.
    4. Laurent Cavenaile & Christian Gengenbach & Franz Palm, 2014. "Stock Markets, Banks and Long Run Economic Growth: A Panel Cointegration-Based Analysis," De Economist, Springer, vol. 162(1), pages 19-40, March.
    5. Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2008. "Finance, Financial Sector Policies, and Long-Run Growth," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28021.
    6. Rudra P. Pradhan & Mak B. Arvin & John H. Hall & Sahar Bahmani, 2014. "Causal nexus between economic growth, banking sector development, stock market development, and other macroeconomic variables: The case of ASEAN countries," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(4), pages 155-173, November.
    7. Seven, Ünal & Yetkiner, Hakan, 2016. "Financial intermediation and economic growth: Does income matter?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 39-58.
    8. Zhang, Jin & Wang, Lanfang & Wang, Susheng, 2012. "Financial development and economic growth: Recent evidence from China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 393-412.
    9. Beck, Thorsten & Levine, Ross & Loayza, Norman, 2000. "Finance and the sources of growth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 261-300.
    10. James B. Ang, 2008. "A Survey Of Recent Developments In The Literature Of Finance And Growth," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 536-576, July.
    11. Zouheir Abida & Imen Mohamed Sghaier & Nahed Zghidi, 2015. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: Evidence from North African Countries," Economic Alternatives, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria, issue 2, pages 17-33, April.
    12. Alessio Ciarlone, 2019. "The relationship between financial development and growth: the case of emerging Europe," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 521, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    13. Pradhan, Rudra P. & Arvin, Mak B. & Norman, Neville R., 2015. "Insurance development and the finance-growth nexus: Evidence from 34 OECD countries," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 1-22.
    14. Ghada Barsoum, 2007. "Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2006: Report on Methodology and Data Collection," Working Papers 704, Economic Research Forum, revised 01 Jan 2007.
    15. Narayan, Paresh Kumar & Narayan, Seema, 2013. "The short-run relationship between the financial system and economic growth: New evidence from regional panels," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 70-78.
    16. Durusu-Ciftci, Dilek & Ispir, M. Serdar & Yetkiner, Hakan, 2017. "Financial development and economic growth: Some theory and more evidence," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 290-306.
    17. Muhammad Shahbaz & Ijaz Ur Rehman & Ahmed Taneem Muzaffar, 2015. "Re-Visiting Financial Development and Economic Growth Nexus: The Role of Capitalization in Bangladesh," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 83(3), pages 452-471, September.
    18. Samargandi, Nahla & Fidrmuc, Jan & Ghosh, Sugata, 2015. "Is the Relationship Between Financial Development and Economic Growth Monotonic? Evidence from a Sample of Middle-Income Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 66-81.
    19. Yongfu Huang, 2011. "Private investment and financial development in a globalized world," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 43-56, August.
    20. W.N.W Azman‐Saini & Peter Smith, 2011. "Finance And Growth: New Evidence On The Role Of Insurance," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 79(2), pages 111-127, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:compes:v:57:y:2015:i:4:p:598-622. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.