This study endeavors to explore the shock-transmission mechanism between Trade Policy Uncertainty (TPU) and the volatility inherent in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Islamic stock markets by employing the novel Quantile Vector Auto Regression (QVAR) with "Extended Joint" and "Frequency"...

This special focus chapter analyzes the effectiveness of fiscal policy in fostering economic growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. In doing so, the principal focus of the chapter is on fiscal multipliers, which measure the effect of changes in government spending or revenue on the...

EU-GCC relations are shifting towards a dual-track approach, balancing multilateral and bilateral engagement to adapt to a changing geopolitical landscape. With FTA talks stalled, the new EU-UAE agreement reflects the need for flexibility amid global trade uncertainty, US policy shifts and...

EU-GCC relations are shifting towards a dual-track approach, balancing multilateral and bilateral engagement to adapt to a changing geopolitical landscape. With FTA talks stalled, the new EU-UAE agreement reflects the need for flexibility amid global trade uncertainty, US policy shifts and...

Achieving a more inclusive financial system is crucial to unlocking economic opportunities, reducing inequality, and ensuring that no person will be excluded from access and usage of financial and banking services. Even if financial services are widely available in some areas, others, especially...

Our study explores how ESG performance affects corporate misconduct (CM) in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) firms and whether having more women on corporate boards influences this relationship. Using logistic regression and using data collected from GCC firms, we analyse the moderating effect of...

This era of polycrises, a global health pandemic coupled with wars in Europe and the Middle East, against the backdrop of Great Power rivalry and climate related emergencies, has profoundly affected all countries, rich and poor alike. Disproportionately affected have been those of the Global...

In 2014, the collapse of global oil prices and the resulting increase in fiscal deficits and debt triggered a wave of spending cuts, tax policy and subsidy reforms. The introduction of excises and VAT, broadening of CIT, and subsidy reform have changed the GCC fiscal landscape. Little is known...

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have pursued ambitious digitalization strategies as part of their broader economic transformation agenda. This paper provides a thorough review of the GCC's significant acceleration in digital transformation, particularly since the onset of the...

This paper utilizes the unique dynamics of fiscal budgeting in countries with a large hydro-carbon sector to estimate fiscal multipliers. The main identifying assumption rests on the idea that exogenously identified global hydrocarbon demand shocks can be considered plausible instruments for the...

The Gulf of Guinea (GoG) spans over 6 000 km of coastline and 19 states. The region is rich in natural resources: it holds significant reserves of gas (2.7% of total world reserves) and oil (4.5%), as well as other valuable minerals including diamonds, tin, bauxite, manganese and cobalt. While...

The Gulf of Guinea (GoG) spans over 6 000 km of coastline and 19 states. The region is rich in natural resources: it holds significant reserves of gas (2.7% of total world reserves) and oil (4.5%), as well as other valuable minerals including diamonds, tin, bauxite, manganese and cobalt. While...

This paper revisits the effects of financial market openness and stock market returns on economic development in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries over the period 1993-2022. We performed the panel stationarity test advanced that accommodates the presence of multiple structural breaks and...

Central Asian economies, particularly Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are pursuing increasingly ambitious goals for renewable energy. Apart from China - an established player in the market - it has increasingly been Gulf countries that have been implementing respective projects, particularly Saudi...

On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime in Syria was overthrown by a rebel alliance led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The collapse of the family dictatorship was made possible by shifts in regional and international power dynamics. Key factors included Turkish support for the rebels, the...

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has faced challenges like political instability and economic fluctuations, which have impacted non-performing loans (NPL) levels. At the same time, over the years, reforms and regulations have encouraged stronger board structures to enhance...

This paper explores how AI drives GCC sector retail towards the fulfillment of the UN SDGs. Analyzing a survey conducted on 410 retail executives, using PLS-SEM, this study underlines the role of AI in promoting operational efficiency, waste reduction, and consumer engagement with greener...

Purpose - This study investigates how the Russian invasion of Ukraine affected the stock markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in comparison to Europe and explores the varying responses of GCC markets. Design/methodology/approach - Using an event study framework, the impact of...

This study explores the ownership-risk relationship in the GCC emerging economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining 44 commercial banks classified as private and publicly owned banks. The two-stage least squares (2SLS) method is employed to identify endogeneity issues, with robustness...

This empirical qualitative research explores the texts of 14 free trade agreements (FTAs) concluded by Arab Gulf countries individually or as block. The objective is to evaluate if these documents are gender-responsive using an internationally recognised framework that qualitatively measures if...

Over the past decade, the debate on the microeconomic effects of financial inclusion has intensified, with a growing body of research exploring how access to financial services impacts banks' behaviors. Studying the effect of financial inclusion on bank risk is crucial because it helps...

Once viewed by Ankara primarily as a fragmented security frontier, Iraq now sits at the centre of its regional strategy. This recalibration is shaped by shifting regional dynamics in the aftermath of 7 October: the weakening of Iran’s influence across multiple fronts, the Gulf states’ rising...

The impact of political stability and economic growth on foreign direct investment (FDI) is analysed using a quantitative regression approach in countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).The study used panel data covering the period 1995-2020, involving six GCC countries, and applied...

This study explores the relationship between oil prices and the Human Development Index (HDI) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. It investigates whether oil prices remain the primary driver of economic growth and development in the region. The analysis employs a Cross-Sectional...

This research paper aims to explore the complex relationship between entrepreneurship (REE), economic growth (GDP), and the moderating role of political stability (PS) in the context of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Utilizing a balanced panel dataset from 2006 to 2020, we...

This study examines the connection between crude oil and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region stock markets by employing a regime-switching approach. The methodology provides new insights on how the linkage between oil and GCC stock markets may fluctuate in different economic or market...

The study empirically examines the factors affecting the financing decisions of non-financial listed companies in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Using static and dynamic two-step generalized method of moments techniques, it analyzes unbalanced panel data from 364 non-financial...

This study examines whether the type of financial structure in the GCC influences the relationship between liquidity risk and banks' performance from 2007 to 2021. By employing fixed effects and fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), we find that the impact of liquidity risk on bank...

We empirically investigated the effect of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and institutional quality (IQ) on economic growth in the GCC region. We used panel data collected over 25 years (1998-2022) from six GCC countries-Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,...

Firms in the Gulf region are predominantly governed by the entrepreneurial model where royal ownerships/management dominants. Using a Panel Regression Model in a sample of 202 firms across six countries in the Gulf Cooperating Council (GCC), this paper assesses the direct effect of corporate...

This study examines the effects of geopolitical risk (GPR) shocks on stock market returns and volatility across G7, BRICS, and Gulf countries, using a time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) model. By analyzing responses over short, medium, and long-term horizons, our findings...