In Libya formerly, it was not exclusive to the upper class, but something they all enjoyed, talking about free education, housing, healthcare, etc. The effects on society were very observable because Libya was somewhere a lot of people wanted to move to. Economic empowerment reduces the burden on citizens, giving them less to worry about and more time to be productive.

In countries where the government has really invested in reducing the economic burden of its citizens, the economy is really doing well and flourishing. The other countries who are failing in economic empowerment will claim not to be blessed enough to do so, but in reality most are just suffering from bad governance.