International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

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 Volume 12, Issue 11 (November 2025), Pages: 268-276

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 Original Research Paper

The impact of human capital investment on economic growth: A panel data analysis of MENA countries

 Author(s): 

 Khemissi Gaidi 1, Imene Bentoumi 1, Yousif Saeed Ahmed Amin 2, Abdelsamie Eltayeb Tayfor 3, Mohamed Ali Ali 4, *

 Affiliation(s):

  1LEZINRU Laboratory, Faculty of Economic, Commercial and Management Sciences, Mohamed Elbachir Elibrahimi University, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Algeria
  2Department of Business Administration, College of Business, Jouf University, Tabarjal, Saudi Arabia
  3Department of Economics, Applied College, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
  4Department of Finance, College of Business Administration in Hawtat Bani Tamim, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Hawtat Bani Tamim, Saudi Arabia

 Full text

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 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1006-4262

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.11.025

 Abstract

The human capital theory explains economic growth through the accumulation of knowledge among individuals. This study focuses on the effect of human capital on economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It applies the total production function, which includes traditional growth factors such as labor and physical capital, along with health and education indicators that represent human capital based on modern growth theories. Using panel data from 2004 to 2020, the study empirically examines how education and health, as measures of human capital, affect economic growth in MENA countries. The main finding is that human capital has a slightly positive effect on economic growth in the region, mainly due to inefficiencies in its use.

 © 2025 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

 Human capital, Economic growth, MENA region, Education, Health

 Article history

 Received 13 March 2025, Received in revised form 2 November 2025, Accepted 7 November 2025

 Acknowledgment

This study is supported via funding from Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University project number (PSAU/2025/R/1446). 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Gaidi K, Bentoumi I, Amin YSA, Tayfor AE, and Ali MA (2025). The impact of human capital investment on economic growth: A panel data analysis of MENA countries. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(11): 268-276

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 Tables

  Table 1  Table 2  Table 3  Table 4  Table 5  Table 6  Table 7  Table 8  Table 9  Table 10 

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