Tourism and economic growth: a meta-analysis of panel data studies

Abstract

Although for decades it has been acknowledged that tourism likely contributes to economic growth, theoretical models that consider a causal relationship between both are a recent phenomenon. From a sample of 11 studies based on panel data techniques published through to 2011, and for a total of 87 heterogeneous estimations, a metaanalysis is performed by applying models for both fixed and random effects, with the main objective being to calculate a summary measure of the effects of tourism on economic growth. While the results obtained point to a positive elasticity between economic growth and tourism, the magnitude of the effect was found to vary according to the methodological procedure employed in the original studies for empirical estimations.