The effect of the ease of doing business index on income inequality in selected countries of the Middle East and North Africa

Income inequality is one of the main issues that affect various economic aspects of countries. Therefore, the current research was conducted with the aim of investigating the factors affecting income inequality with an emphasis on the ease of doing business . For this purpose, 11-year panel data from 2010 to 2020 from 16 selected countries of the MENA region were collected from the United Nations and World Bank database and estimated using the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) panel method. The results obtained from the estimation of the model show that the ease of doing business index had a negative and significant impact on income inequality; This means that the mentioned variables lead to a more equal distribution of income among people. The relationship between inflation, educational inequality and unemployment with income inequality has been estimated to be positive and significant; This means that the aforementioned variables have led to the distribution of income inequality among people. Also, the findings show a positive and significant effect between public expenditure of the government and per capita GDP with income inequality. Countries should provide suitable platforms and infrastructures to improve the business environment and easier access of all members of the society to suitable jobs with sufficient salaries so that income inequality can be reduced by increasing the purchasing power of the weak sections of the society.