How Does Institutional Quality Moderates the Impact of Public Debt on Economic Growth? Startling Evidence from OIC Countries

Abstract

Utilizing the data for forty-three member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), this study delves into the impact of public debt on economic growth and evaluates how institutional quality moderates this effect. The outcomes of the study disclose a nonlinear relationship between public debt and economic growth in OIC countries. The results disclose threshold value of public debt is 63.43 as a percent of GDP in OIC economies after this it thwarts economic growth. The quantitative outcomes unveil that the quality of political and economic institutions boosts economic growth. The findings from the various models demonstrate that political institutions influence the growth impact of the economic institutions, these findings are acknowledging the "hierarchy of institutions hypothesis." The results of the interaction term reveal that, even as public debt hurts economic growth, better political and economic institutional quality measures alleviate this negative impact. Institutional infrastructure reforms are critical for public debt accumulation policy to mitigate the undesirable consequence of debt on economic growth in OIC member countries. Countries should considerably lessen their dependence on public debt and keep it below the threshold level that harms economic growth. OIC countries should mobilize their internally produced revenue collection mechanisms in order to increase revenue generation and close the gap between available resources and spending while incurring the least amount of public debt. Our findings can be pragmatic to design a germane fiscal policy to maximize economic growth.