The Causality between Income Inequality and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from the Middle East and North Africa Region

Abstract

This paper explores the causality problem between income inequality and economic growth for 9 countries of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for the period ranging from 1960 to 2011. In this study, we applied the cointegration techniques, that means the Granger causality tests (in the long-run and short-run). The results of this paper indicate that the Granger causality in the long-run exist for example in Tunisia, Iran, and Morocco. Moreover, the Granger causality in the short-run exist in many other countries such as Mauritania, Jordan and Algeria.