Peace, terrorism and economic growth in Middle East and North African countries

Many countries in the globalized world have experienced significant rates of economic growth over the last four decades. However, the increasing severity of financial crises and terrorism attacks and substantial decreases in peaceful environments have accompanied this large global economic expansion. Many regions of the world have seen growing prosperity for its people, but their safety has become less assured than in the past. In this regard, the Middle East and North African region has become one of the least peaceful in the world and experienced a substantial number of terrorist attacks. This study researches the interaction among economic growth, peace, and terrorism in 18 MENA countries with panel data analysis over the 2008–2014 period. The findings suggest that peaceful environment had a positive effect on the economic growth, while terrorism had a negative effect on the economic growth. Furthermore, a bilateral causality was generally revealed between peace and economic growth and terrorism and economic growth.