Abstract
The concept of economic growth, which is of great importance for national economies, is closely related to labor productivity as well as labor, capital, and technology. In terms of estimating the optimal factor combination, it is very important, to be able to determine in which region of the production public and private sector companies operate. As it is known, optimizing the factor composition induce the effective use of production resources and achieving higher output levels. On the other hand, being able to make predictions about the productivity of the labor force, which is a factor of production, will help to take more accurate decisions in the policies to be applied regarding the labor market. Therefore, in this study, the relationship between output per labor force and the labor participation rate was examined within the scope of the basic Solow model. Data of selected Islamic countries namely UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan, Egypt, and Jordan were used at annual frequency for the period 2001 – 2019. The labor force participation rate was added to the basic Solow model, and its relationship with output per labor force was investigated. Due to the assumption deviations related to the established model, the model was analyzed through the Driscoll-Kraay Standard Error estimator. The findings revealed that the basic Solow model is valid in the aforementioned countries for the specified period. Moreover, there is a significant and negative relationship between output per labor force and labor force participation rate. In other words, when the labor force participation rate increases by 1%, output per labor force decreases by approximately 1.8%.