The relationship between technology, education and economic growth in MENA countries

Nowadays, countries with advanced technologies state that educated people are the real power, rather than physical strength. In this context, countries pay attention to the fact that the education service they provide to their society is blended with technology and that it is compatible with the era they are in. It is believed that education based on socio-economic well-being is one of the cornerstones of economic growth, increases labor productivity and the well-being of societies. Education, which strengthens the competitive environment by making a difference in the technologies and production processes of the countries, is an important phenomenon for MENA (Middle East & North Africa) countries as it is for all countries. MENA; it draws attention as one of the mixed regions of the world with its country diversity, social, economic and political structure. It is in an important position for the world economy with its oil supply, expensive weapons demand and advanced technology demand. Any disruption of this position has the effect of causing instability and fluctuations in the world economy. With this position, investments in MENA countries, which are in the center of attention of developed and developing countries, are increasing. Technological developments are in an important position in the growth literature as well as in the education service. An important sub-topic of technological development in the literature is telecommunications infrastructure. In the study, the relationship between telecommunications, education and economic growth was first examined in a theoretical framework and the relationship between them dec revealed. Afterwards, the relationship between education, technology and economic growth was investigated in 15 MENA countries , including Turkey, where there was no problem in providing data between 1993 and 2018. The study data were obtained from the World Bank World Development Indicators Database. Primary school enrollment rates were used as educational data in the study. The primary education enrollment rates of the countries were collected and an average was obtained, and the countries that were below the average were coded as zero, and the countries that were above the average were coded as one and included in the analysis. Internet users and mobile cellular subscription data were used as technology data. These indicators also indicate the telecommunications infrastructure. The economic growth variable was calculated as the real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The study was tested by means of the instrumental-variable generalized moment method (IV-GMM) with annual data for the period 1993-2018 for 15 countries. As a result of the study, one period delay of economic growth, education, inflation, KBGSYH, mobile, (mobile*education), internet and (internet*education) variables the effect on economic growth are statistically significant; goverment expenditures, investment and trade variables were found to be statistically insignificant. In the same way, in the analysis, it was concluded that the effect of education, internet and mobile variables on economic growth is negative, but the variables (internet*education) and (mobile*education) have a positive effect. The aim of the study is to explain the relationship between technology, education and economic growth in MENA countries and to provide recommendations to policy makers in order to achieve economic growth. The findings obtained by the study are important in terms of contributing to a limited number of studies related to the MENA countries in the literature.