EMNES Working Paper No 35
The purpose of this study is to investigate empirically the relationship between financial inclusion and unemployment for a sample of countries within the MENA. An index for financial inclusion, using Sarma (2008), has been estimated for Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia during the period 2008-2018. The estimated index for financial inclusion reveals that, despite some progress, there is a need to foster financial inclusion in the region. Based on this index, the impact of financial inclusion on unemployment has been tested. The estimation of a random effect model testing the relationship between financial inclusion and unemployment shows a negative effect of financial inclusion on unemployment for the selected sample of countries.
