In recent years, financial inclusion has taken center stage in policy discussions regarding achieving higher growth rates and reducing poverty levels. The existing literature analyzing the relationship between financial inclusion and GDP growth mostly assumes a one-way relation from financial inclusion to GDP, often ignoring potential reverse causality. Furthermore, the literature commonly adopts a financial inclusion index, or focuses on specific indicators such as the number of bank branches, ATMs or the share of people having an account. Because financial inclusion encompasses multiple dimensions, it is important to analyze the causal linkages between different financial inclusion indicators and GDP. In this paper, we analyze the nature and the direction of the causality between GDP and a large number of financial inclusion indicators for MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries by adopting the recently developed nonlinear and nonparametric Kernel causality approach. Our analysis suggests that financial inclusion increases as the share of women having bank accounts increases. It also increases with the share of adults with primary education having an account and the share of adults having a mobile account. We also identify the relationship between main barriers to financial inclusion and GDP, and find that affordability and having insufficient funds are associated with GDP.

Access to electricity, a fundamental element of contemporary life, is essential for economic success. Its impact extends to the fundamental foundations of industrial development and has the power to improve a wide range of industries, including healthcare, transportation, utilities, and education. This article aims to analyse the effect of electricity access on primary education in Central Africa over the period 1997-2019. To this effect, we employ data mainly from the World Development indicator on 9 countries of Central Africa. Using the pooled ordinary least squares estimation technique, the results indicate that access to electricity contributes positively and significantly to primary educational attainment in Central Africa during the study period. The results are Robust to the use of alternative estimation strategy and eventual endogeneity problems in the results are account through the two stage least square estimation techniques which confirm our baseline results as well as the nature of the relationship between access to electricity and primary education in Central Africa. These results have important implications for policies in overcoming barriers to electricity access.

Overall development of a country largely depends on the economic policy instruments particularly fiscal and monetary policy to streamline the development and continue the developmental progress. These two policies have significant effects on long-term growth. It is noticed that policy adoption and reforms in both fiscal and monetary policies undertaken by Southeast Asian nations during the 1960s through 1990s have contributed to their advancement. This paper discusses the strategies for flourishing as emerging economies. Examples from Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are highlighted in this study. It is found that prudent fiscal and monetary policy, effective discounting and interest rate; modernized tax system and most importantly policy regime are the contributing factors of these emerging economies. However, in spite of high-income growth and development because of supportive these policy initiatives, administrative and politico-economic constraints challenged the path of economies. Long-term development strategies are suggested to sustain the growth and continue the development pace.