Tourism and Growth in the Caribbean – Evidence from a Panel Error Correction Model

Abstract

This empirical study examines the causal relationship between tourism and economic growth for a panel of nine Caribbean countries over the period 1995–2007. Pedroni (1999, 2004) panel cointegration tests reveal a long-run equilibrium relationship between real GDP per capita, the real effective exchange rate and international tourist arrivals per capita. The panel error correction model reveals bidirectional causality between tourism and economic growth in both the short run and the long run.