Volume 16, Issue 2

In this paper, we use a positional dominance approach to assess the desirability of eliminating food subsidies in Lebanon. The analysis is based on aggregate information from the 2004 to 2005 National Survey of Households Living Conditions. We use this aggregate information on expenditure patterns to reconstruct rough estimates of s -concentration curves and efficiency-cost ratio sets. Evidences suggest that the Lebanese government should probably find other avenues to reduce the fiscal deficit.

This study empirically investigates the impact of bank profitability, as a complementary measure of financial development, on growth in the Arab countries between 1985 and 2016. Using a generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation to test the impact of the bank profitability on growth, this study utilises two variables in the econometric model which are return on assets and return on equity. This study reveals that both variables of bank profitability are positive and significant. This confirms that the bank profitability, beside other financial development variables, has positive impact on the growth. This study points out some important implications based on this result.

This paper presents an empirical study of the Kuznets curve in Arab countries using a dataset from 12 Arab countries over the period between 1990 and 2015. The analysis is carried out by employing a panel data method, mainly the fixed-effect and interactive fixed-effect models, which take into account the economic integration of countries, and the frequent political, financial and social shocks. Our results show that the Kuznets curve does not characterize economic development in the Arab region and that trade, urbanization and education positively impact income inequality.