Theoretical and Applied Economics
No. 4 / 2021 (629), Winter
Public service delivery dilemma and economic growth challenges in the MENA Region
University of Oran 2, Algeria
Lahouari BENLAHCENE
University of Oran 2, Algeria
Abstract. The present paper investigates the impact of public service quality on economic growth in 15 MENA countries over the period 1996-2018, through the use of panel data analysis, including Fixed Effects Model, Random Effects Model and Hausman test. The Hausman test favors the fixed effect model, which clarifies that the government effectiveness index exerts a highly significant positive impact on economic growth in 15 MENA countries. While the government spending (freedom from government) exhibits a statistically insignificant positive effect on economic growth in the selected countries. Based on these findings, it could be concluded that the ideal reconciliation between delivering high-quality public services and keeping public spending low and efficient, is the perfect recipe for the MENA region’s economic success. It is also recommended that MENA governments should foster their cooperation with the private sector in the delivery of education and health care services, besides tackling administrative reforms in alignment with the goal of providing efficient public goods and services. Furthermore, anti-corruption policies should be knitted, taking into serious consideration the promotion of institutional quality and optimization of government size.
Contents
The pandemic crisis – A new factor to slow down the expansion of the Eurozone
Revealing the effects of competitiveness and innovation on economic growth: Evidence from European leading and following countries
Public service delivery dilemma and economic growth challenges in the MENA Region
Hidden Markov Model using transaction patterns for ATM card fraud detection
Productivity growth in Chinese cities: The agglomeration effect for cross-regional industrial structures
Time-varying volatility spillover of foreign exchange rate in three Asian markets: Based on DCC-GARCH approach
Non-linear effect of public debt on economic growth: The case of Tunisia
Application of single Sharpe index on the optimal portfolio construction using Indian blue-chip stocks
Budget policy, economic cycle and debt in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries: Empirical evidence based on a regime change model
The impact of government spending on the economic growth of a sample of developing countries using panel data
The evolution of consumer prices – the main brake on economic growth
Analysis of income inequalities in the pre-pandemic COVID-19 period