Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) in Emerging Countries: The Case of Tunisia

Mohamed Malek Belhoula

Journal of Accounting and Finance in Emerging Economies, 2024, vol. 10, issue 2, 127-138

Abstract: Purpose: I aim to develop the first Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) indices for Tunisia covering the period from 2012 to 2022, using a methodology adapted from Baker et al. (2016). These indices assess the frequency of relevant terms in major Tunisian newspapers to gauge the level of economic policy uncertainty. Additionally, I investigate the impact of EPU on economic activity.Design/Methodology/Approach: This study employs a textual analysis methodology and a Web-scraping algorithm to compute the news-based EPU indices. Additionally, using a VAR (Vector Autoregression) methodology and impulse response functions, the study examines the dynamic relationship between EPU and key macroeconomic variables, including GDP, consumption, industrial production, and the unemployment rate.Findings:& The results reveal that increases in EPU significantly predict declines in GDP, consumption, and industrial production, while positively correlating with the unemployment rate. Furthermore, monetary policy uncertainty emerges as the most influential factor contributing to EPU.Implications/Originality/Value: These findings underscore the importance of clear and consistent policy frameworks in mitigate uncertainty and enhancing economic performance in emerging economies like Tunisia.

Keywords: Economic Performance; Vector Autoregression; Economic Policy Uncertainty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://publishing.globalcsrc.org/ojs/index.php/jafee/article/view/2972/1733 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:src:jafeec:v:10:y:2024:i:2:p:127-138

DOI: 10.26710/jafee.v10i2.2972

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Accounting and Finance in Emerging Economies from CSRC Publishing, Center for Sustainability Research and Consultancy Pakistan Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Rabia Rasheed ().