The relationship between public education spending and economic growth remains contested in developing economies, where quality, not just quantity, of investment may matter most. This study examines whether public education expenditure has driven economic growth in Egypt over 1980–2023, addressing the under-studied role of education quality and testing the robustness of the estimated relationship to structural breaks linked to major reforms. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach together with Zivot–Andrews structural break unit root tests and CUSUM/CUSUMSQ parameter-stability tests, the study models short- and long-run effects of education expenditure on GDP growth, controlling for capital formation, labor participation, trade openness, and foreign investment, and incorporating quality proxies such as student–teacher ratios and completion rates. The bound F-statistic (6.23) exceeds the 5% upper-bound critical value of 3.83 (Narayan in 2005 on small-sample critical values), confirming long-run cointegration, and the error-correction coefficient (−0.835, p < 0.01) indicates rapid adjustment to equilibrium. Physical capital is the strongest driver of long-run growth, while education expenditure shows a weakly negative long-run association (significant at 10%), suggesting allocative inefficiency rather than absent returns; quality proxies (completion rate, student–teacher ratio) show a negative short-run and positive one-period-lagged effect, consistent with a delayed adjustment process. Stability tests confirm the long-run relationship is structurally invariant once short-run dynamics are accounted for. Thus, improving the efficiency and quality of education spending, rather than its volume, appears essential for Egypt to advance Vision 2030, SDG 4, and SDG 8.

Financial inclusion has been a major driver of economic growth and a primary strategy for achieving it in the majority of economies globally over the past few years. Most nations have regarded it as a modern program aimed at ensuring equitable and sustainable economic expansion. To this extent, the paper sheds light on the causal relationship between economic growth and financial inclusion in Egypt between 2008 and 2023. The paper aims to address the following question: How do indicators of financial inclusion impact economic growth in Egypt? To address this question, the research aimed to analyse the cause-effect relationship between a set of financial inclusion indicators, including the number of bank accounts, the number of bank payment cards, the number of bank branches, the number of ATMs, the volume of individual deposits, and the value of credit provided to individuals, as well as the economic growth of Egypt according to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The research employed the Vector Autoregression (VAR) method to investigate the causal relationships among the research variables. The results showed that measures of financial inclusion directly affect Egypt’s economic growth rate. Based on these results, the article recommends enhancing the provision of banking services by streamlining the opening requirements for bank accounts and business licenses, and by improving access to these services across all areas of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

This research paper provides an in-depth analysis of the primary determinants of financial inclusion in Gulf Cooperation Council countries from 2010 to 2023. Using a sound methodological framework, the study first developed a comprehensive Financial Inclusion Index for each member state, based on the multidimensional approach proposed by Sarma (2008). Furthermore, an ARDL model was estimated using the Pooled Mean Group estimator to analyze the short- and long-run relationships between the Financial Inclusion Index and its potential determinants, while accounting for cross-sectional dependence across countries. The results show significant and continuous improvements in the financial inclusion indicators across all GCC countries, with indicators now in the high financial inclusion categories. Three key long-term drivers were identified through the econometric analysis: the Human Development Index, internet penetration, and the dependency ratio. Interestingly, both the Human Development Index and internet use had a statistically significant positive impact, highlighting the fundamental roles of human capital and digital infrastructure in development. A positive nexus between the dependency ratio and financial inclusion was also observed, a finding that runs counter to conventional literature but can be explained by the region's high income levels and comprehensive social welfare systems, which route support through formal banking channels. The error-correction model confirmed a stable long-term equilibrium, with 32.7% of short-term deviations corrected each year. The policy recommendations presented in this paper conclude by calling for the adoption of integrated strategies that link financial inclusion with human development and digital transformation agendas, while enhancing regional cooperation to accelerate progress toward the desired outcomes

The relationship between public education spending and economic growth remains contested in developing economies, where quality, not just quantity, of investment may matter most. This study examines whether public education expenditure has driven economic growth in Egypt over 1980-2023, addressing the under-studied role of edu-cation quality and structural breaks linked to major reforms. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach with Zivot-Andrews structural break and CUSUM/CUSUMSQ stability tests, the study models short- and long-run effects of education expenditure on GDP growth, controlling for capital formation, labor par-ticipation, trade openness, and foreign investment, and incorporating quality proxies such as student-teacher ratios and completion rates. The bound F-statistic (6.23) con-firm long-run cointegration, and the error-correction coefficient (-0.835, p< 0.01) indi-cates rapid adjustment to equilibrium. Physical capital is the strongest driver of long-run growth, while education expenditure shows a weakly negative long-run as-sociation (significant at 10%), suggesting allocative inefficiency rather than absent re-turns; quality proxies show significant adjustment effects. Stability tests confirm the long-run relationship is structurally invariant once short-run dynamics are accounted for. Improving the efficiency and quality of education spending, rather than its volume, thus appears essential for Egypt to advance Vision 2030, SDG 4, and SDG 8.

Can we conclude that rapid digital transformation leads to geographically equitable development? This research paper investigates the simultaneous and spatial dynamics of digital development and digital inclusion within the administrative regions of Saudi Arabia from 2012 to 2024. The research employs β-convergence, σ-convergence, Theil inequality decomposition techniques, and Spatial Durbin Models (SDM) to determine whether successful digital advancement results in better inclusion. The findings present a significant discrepancy between technological improvement and its results in terms of equity. The Digital Progress Index (DPI) reveals that convergence occurs at 4.71% annually, while the Digital Inclusion Score (DIS) reaches only 1.41% per year. While there is a significant reduction in the spread of digital progress, the outcome for digital inclusion inequality is only 15%, which has been stagnant after 2020. The Theil decomposition indicates that the inequality component among the regions has dropped from 69.7% to 39.8%, and the inequality gap among regions has increased. The SD estimates demonstrate that digital infrastructure has a positive influence across the regions, indicating that digital advancement also produces wider benefits. However, they are insufficient to solve the inclusion issues. The results refute the belief that rapid digitalization brings about geographically inclusive development, as the report argues that the processes of digital advancement and digital inclusion occur along separate convergence trajectories. As a result, the question raised by this research is how to migrate from infrastructure-based digitalization to place-based policies that will enable investments in digital capabilities, affordability, accessibility, and economic impediments, affecting the implementation of Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia, among other rapidly digitalized economies.