The aim of this study is to analyze the relation between human capital and economic growth for the years between 1990 and 2011 in 15 MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries. Knowles and Owen's (1995) model which is based on Mankiw et al. (1992)'s Augmented Solow Model in principle is used as the economic model in the study. However, the statistical analysis is panel-data for the countries. Human capital is represented by both health and education at the same time. The findings show that public expenditure on human capital does not have any significant effect on economic growth neither in terms of health nor education. But this does not change the fact that when health and education quality are improved, the GDP per capita would increase, thus growth can be much more effective.

This paper tested for a contagion effect between the foreign exchange market of the Eurozone and the markets of seven emerging and growth leading economies-EAGLEs-during the European Debt Crisis. For this purpose, we used the daily domestic currency per unit of US Dollar of seven EAGLEs countries from 01.01.2007 to 31.12.2012. The tranquil period was from 01.01.2007 to 19.10.2009 and the turmoil period was from 20.10.2009 to 31.12.2012. We found a contagion effect between the foreign exchange market of the Eurozone and the markets of Brazil, Mexico, and Turkey. The evidence suggests that foreign trade is likely to be the source of the contagion during the European Debt Crisis. The evidence presented in this paper is important for policy makers, international investors, and portfolio managers.