The Impact of Entrepreneurship on the Economic Growth of MENA Countries

According to endogenous growth models, entrepreneurship plays a key role in determining the dynamics of economic growth and the level of welfare of countries. More specifically, these models notes that human capital and technological spillover will lead to economic growth. The aim of this paper is to examines the effect of entrepreneurial activity on economic in MENA countries. Following endogenous growth model and Barrow studies (2003), I use the logarithmic form of Cobb Douglas production function and self-employment data of the World Bank as an entrepreneurial variable of MENA countries in the time period 2018-1991.  The results of fixed effects panel regression show that the adjusted level of entrepreneurship of human capital, which includes the variable of product of self-employment and average years of education has a positive and significant effect on economic growth. Employment also has a negative effect and forces people to be self-employed, Thus the economic growth will lead to policies to encourage entrepreneurship and support new technologies by increasing the level of education of entrepreneurs.