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Demographics in MENA Countries: A Major Driver for Economic Growth

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  • Yeganeh Forouheshfar

    (Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, LEDA-DIAL - Développement, Institutions et Modialisation - LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres)

  • Najat El Mekkaoui

    (Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, LEDA-DIAL - Développement, Institutions et Modialisation - LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres)

  • Hippolyte d'Albis

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

MENA region is undergoing rapid demographic transition, where 50% of the population is under the age 25 and high youth unemployment rates are argued to be one of the main sources of political instability. In this paper we evaluate the economic impact of the demographic transition for selected MENA countries, namely: Iran, Morocco and Egypt who experience different speeds of transition. We have developed a general equilibrium overlapping generations model with a cost of capital mobilisation as a proxy for financial markets' efficiency and simulated the demographic trends in each country. We find that the demographic shift will be an important driver for growth in the upcoming decades. Furthermore, our results show that a more efficient financial sector leads to better economic performance. Specifically, youth are the primary beneficiaries: an increase in the financial sector efficiency can reduce up to 8 percentage points of the the unemployment rate for the youngest age group.

Suggested Citation

  • Yeganeh Forouheshfar & Najat El Mekkaoui & Hippolyte d'Albis, 2020. "Demographics in MENA Countries: A Major Driver for Economic Growth," Post-Print halshs-02874757, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02874757
    DOI: 10.1007/s10645-020-09357-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Pea-Assounga, Jean Baptiste Bernard & Bambi, Prince Dorian Rivel & Jafarzadeh, Elham & Nima Ngapey, Jonathan Dior, 2025. "Investigating the impact of crude oil prices, CO2 emissions, renewable energy, population growth, trade openness, and FDI on sustainable economic growth," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    2. Banda, Mutisunge Allan, 2024. "Population age structure as a determinant of long-run macroeconomic growth: demographic endogenous growth theory," MPRA Paper 122725, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Ben J. Heijdra & Klaus Prettner, 2020. "Putting People Back into the Picture: Some Studies in Demographic Economics," De Economist, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 147-152, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • E17 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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