Causal relationship between economic development and unemployment in Iraq: Using the ARDL method

The role of the government in developing strategies to promote economic development to reduce unemployment is reflected in increasing foreign direct investment and modernizing the investment environment for private investment institutions. This study aims to analyze the impact of economic development variables on unemployment in Iraq during the period 2000-2023 by determining the impact of foreign direct investment, total government expenditure, total exports, and private investment. The inductive analysis method was used to examine the impact on unemployment. The results showed the importance of foreign direct investment on unemployment, while total government expenditure, total exports, and private investment had no significant impact on unemployment. There was a correlation between economic development variables and unemployment. This study provides an analytical perspective on the success of Iraq's economic development in addressing unemployment to help develop more effective economic reform strategies to address the challenges facing the Iraqi workforce.