Democracy and economic growth in the MENA countries : an empirical analysis using panel data

الملخص EN

The relationship between democracy and economic growth is ambiguous.

Therefore, this paper examines the impact of democracy on economic growth by using panel data of 15 MENA countries over the period 2006-2018.

The study follows democratisation, and it assumes that democracy affects economic growth through: Electoral process and pluralism index, Political participation index, Functioning of government index, Political culture index, Civil liberties and freedom index that collected from Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) dataset.

We explored this nexus by using a Random Effect model, and results revealed that democracy enhances economic growth through electoral pluralism index; meanwhile, it hinders growth through the functioning of government index.