Reviewing Trade Openness, Domestic Investment, and Economic Growth Nexus: Contemporary Policy Implications for the MENA region

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of trade openness on the economic performances of selected Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries while incorporating elements of domestic investment into the empirical analysis in the wake of dynamic sentiments for trade liberalization among nations in recent times. The study covers an empirical analysis of a panel of observations from the selected countries within the framework of the Fully Modified Least Square (FMOLS), and the Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) regression techniques. The empirical results affirm the existence of a long-run relationship among the variables. However, while domestic investment and the size of the labor force significantly impact economic growth in the positive direction among these countries, trade openness was found to be negatively impacting on growth for the period of the study. It is therefore recommended that cogent effort should be directed towards investments that are crucial for the improvement of labor productivity and production value chains in the domestic economy to dissuade or minimize the rate of export of raw primary commodities. Also, adequate steps should be taken to improve the overall business environment, remove trade impediments, and strengthen institutions among the countries in the region to harness the benefits of trade in our increasingly globalized world.