Financial Development and Inclusion in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia

The link between financial development and sustainable economic growth is complex. The academic literature published on this topic in recent years finds that financial development contributes to growth up to a certain tipping point. Beyond this tipping point, financial development would make the overall system more fragile. The benefits of financial development and the level of the tipping point seem to vary between economies. Among the factors that contribute to the variance are the composition of the financial system (institutions and market based intermediation), access (financial inclusion) and efficiency (government interventions, allocation, etc.). The complexity of the relationship between financial development and economic growth requires the assessment of the factors affecting the relationship in order to determine the most effective policies. In this study, we provide an assessment of the various factors determining financial development in terms of the financial sector structure, contribution to the economy and financial inclusion in four countries mainly Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.