How do Financial Development and Stability Shape Human Development?

Abstract

The crucial role of financial systems in sustainable development has become the center of global and national interest and development strategies, and more developed and stable financial systems are the cornerstone for development finance and achieving the sustainable development goals. This research aims to examine the impact of financial development and stability on human development firstly in a sample of 185 countries worldwide, and secondly in a sample of 21 MENA countries, over the period 1990–2019. This study adopts the Panel Data Econometrics (Fixed Effects and Random Effects Methods) and proxy for human development by exploiting the UNDP’s Human Development Index and its three subindices (Education, Income, and Life expectancy), while it adopts broad money, credit to the domestic private sector, and banking sector deposits (all as a percentage of GDP) to proxy for financial development. Moreover, it represents financial stability by the banking sector Z-score and a dummy variable representing crises. The empirical results reveal the prevailing role of development and stability in the financial systems on human development and its three subcomponents, regardless of the country’s economic development level.