FINANCIAL STRUCTURE-ECONOMIC GROWTH NEXUS IN MENA COUNTRIES: EVIDENCE FROM PANEL DATA APPROACH

The financial structure is always considered as a major factor responsible for economic growth in a country. Based on various economic theories, there would be a positive relationship between the financial system and economic growth rate. In fact, a country with a better financial system can generate a larger Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which stands for a positive economic growth. However, it should be noted here that in the real world, there is not homogeneity in financial mechanism and economic growth, hence, we cannot completely set theory in the reality. According to this brief state of the problem, the main purpose of this research is exploring the financial structure (i.e. Financial development and financial architecture) – economic growth nexus through the Panel Cointegraiton approach, FMOLS and Panel LS estimations over 19802011 for eight countries in the MENA region. The empirical findings report clear support for the long run relationship between financial development and economic growth, while do not provide any statistically significant relationship between financial architecture and economic growth.