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Financial Inclusion and Bank Stability in the MENA Region

Ali Awdeh et al.

Review of Middle East Economics and Finance2025https://doi.org/10.1515/rmeef-2025-0010article
ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Abstract This study investigates the impact of financial inclusion on bank stability in the MENA region over the period 2004–2022, using a panel of 201 banks from 15 MENA countries. Three multidimensional proxies for financial inclusion are constructed using data from the IMF Financial Access Survey. The study employs the two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) and quantile regression to ensure the robustness of results. The findings consistently reveal a negative and statistically significant relationship between financial inclusion and bank stability, suggesting that expanding access to financial services may increase instability when not supported by adequate financial literacy and regulatory safeguards. In addition, the results show that bank-specific factors such as credit risk, cost-efficiency, size, and income diversification significantly affect stability. At the macro level, GDP per capita was found to be negatively associated with stability, while governance indicators showed to have constructive influence. The findings suggest that policymakers should adopt a cautious and sequenced approach to financial inclusion, ensuring that risk mitigation and consumer education mechanisms are in place before scaling up access.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1515/rmeef-2025-0010

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@article{ali2025,
  title        = {{Financial Inclusion and Bank Stability in the MENA Region}},
  author       = {Ali Awdeh et al.},
  journal      = {Review of Middle East Economics and Finance},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1515/rmeef-2025-0010},
}

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Financial Inclusion and Bank Stability in the MENA Region

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.