Airlangga International Journal of Islamic Economics and Finance
Vol. 9 No. 01 (2026): January-June 2026

THE DETERMINANTS OF RURAL-URBAN INEQUALITY IN OIC COUNTRIES

Nisa Rahma Fadila (Universitas Terbuka)



Article Info

Publish Date
02 Jun 2026

Abstract

Rural-urban inequality is one of many economic development problems faced by OIC countries which most of them are developing countries. The aim of the study is to examine determinants of rural-urban inequality in OIC countries from 2009 – 2018. This study employs a quantitative method with panel data analysis. The examined explanatory variables are economic growth, financial development index, government expenditure, inflation, unemployment rate, trade openness, foreign direct investment, population growth, and human development index. Data was obtained from the official websites of the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP. Result of the study finds that economic growth, financial development index, government expenditure, unemployment rate, population growth, and human development index statistically significantly affect rural-urban inequality. The policy implications recommended in this study are that policymakers in OIC countries are advised to increase economic growth through improving financial sector performance, government spending, and improving the quality of human resources. This study contributes to the expanding literature on the still under-researched rural-urban inequality and, to the best of the author's knowledge, this study is the first study to examine the rural-urban inequality in countries across continents.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

AIJIEF

Publisher

Subject

Economics, Econometrics & Finance

Description

Airlangga International Journal of Islamic Economic and finance (AIJIEF) publishes quality and in-depth analysis of current issues within Islamic finance and Islamic economics. The journal welcomes robust evidence-based empirical studies and results-focused case studies that share research in ...