Does Artificial Intelligence Investment Improve Logistics Performance? Evidence from the EU and MENA Regions

This study explores how private investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) influences the improvement of the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) for countries in the European Union and the Arabian (MENA) region from 2018 to 2023. The paper uses a quantitative approach with secondary data, focusing mainly on AI investment and some baseline economic conditions like GDP per capita, broadband coverage, and trade openness. The regression results show that AI investment has a positive and significant impact on LPI when the EU and Arabian countries are combined, but the relationship disappears when only EU countries are tested. The findings suggest that developing or middle-income economies may gain more from AI investment because they have more space for improvement, while richer countries may have already reached performance limits. This research gives a simple but meaningful understanding of how AI can support logistics and trade competitiveness under different economic environments