The objective of this study is to examine the effects of port efficiency and port throughput on economic growth in port-harboring countries in the Middle East. In this research, the direct impacts of port efficiency and the volume of port operations on the economic growth of these countries are investigated. The analysis is conducted using panel data from 13 Middle Eastern countries over the period 2007–2023. By applying a panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model in an Error Correction Model (ECM) framework, both short-run and long-run relationships among the variables are examined.
The results indicate that port efficiency and the volume of port operations have a positive and statistically significant effect on economic growth in the long run. In particular, improvements in port efficiency directly contribute to economic growth through reducing trade costs and enhancing logistical processes. Moreover, port throughput, measured by the volume of port operations, strengthens trade linkages and promotes economic growth in the long term.
The findings also reveal that port efficiency plays a moderating role in the relationship between port throughput and economic growth, such that the impact of port throughput on economic growth becomes stronger at higher levels of port efficiency.