February 2019

IZA DP No. 12161: Did the Arab Spring Reduce MENA Countries' Growth?

Mahmoud Arayssi, Ali Fakih, Nathir Haimoun

published in: Applied Economics Letters, 2019, 26 (19), 1579-1585

This paper examines the economic ramifications of the recent political reconfigurations that the MENA region witnessed, commonly known as the Arab Spring, utilizing MENA countries data during period 2005-2016. Using the Arellano-Bond dynamic panel estimation, the paper estimates a growth model using the difference in the log of GDPC between periods t and t+1. Buttressed by sufficient empirical evidence, the paper's findings corroborate that the Arab Spring had been negatively associated with growth.