E-Government for Sustainable Development: Evidence from MENA Countries

With a loan portfolio estimated at $124.1 billion in 2018, 139.9 million borrowers benefited from microfinance services, compared to just 98 million in 2009 (World Bank Group, 2018). Despite a low quality portfolio and high borrowers' costs, the portfolio in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) shows a remarkable increase of 20% but with a decrease of 6.6 points (Microfinance Barometer, 2019). Most of empirical studies have focused on the issue of microfinance, and research conducted on the effectiveness of microcredit is surprisingly scarce or even non-existent in the MENA region. In addition, microcredit could lead to sustainable development in the region via an income effect. The main objective of this paper is to determine the impact of microcredit on sustainable development for 10 selected MENA countries over the period 1990-2018. Empirical results paradoxically show a negative effect of microcredit on sustainable development. Although, the limitations of data, the present paper also contributes to the existing literature by advising conditions for the success of microcredit aiming for a better promotion of sustainable development.

Download Full-text

The Female Financial Inclusion and the Sustainable Development in MENA Countries

10.21203/rs.3.rs-124963/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

WAJDI MOUSSA

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Labor Force ◽

Stable State ◽

Participation Rate ◽

Jel Classification ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Mena Countries ◽

Speed Of Adjustment ◽

Linear Fit

Abstract In this paper we try to examine the effect of Microfinance on the sustainable development in a group of Middle East and North Africa countries (MENA). Can we consider that Microcredits are performing instrument for the sustainable development in MENA countries? To answer this question we chose a period from 1990 to 2018 and a sample of 10 MEN countries was selected. We have approximated sustainable development supported by the endogenous variable corresponds to the net adjustment of sustainable development (GS). Exogenous variables are: Active female borrowers (AFB), Labor Force female (LFF), the female to male labor force ratio, Gender parity index (GPI), GINI Index (GINI) and the GDP deflator. In the empirical analysis, we examined the linear fit of this long-term relationship within an error correction (ECM) model. We founded that 67% of sustainable development imbalance will be corrected by micro-financial institutions as the speed of adjustment brings this imbalance back to a stable state in the long term. Subsequently, we adopted the GMM method to determine the dynamics of sustainable development. Our results showed that participation rate of men in the labor force has a negligible and not significant influence on sustainable development and this can refer to their limit.JEL classification: O16; O57; C38; C33.

Download Full-text