Do countries’ geographical locations moderate the tourism-led economic growth nexus in sub-Saharan Africa?

Francis Baidoo, Elikplimi Komla Agbloyor, Vera Ogeh Lassey Fiador and Nana Amaniampong Marfo
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Francis Baidoo: Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, Academic City University College, Ghana
Elikplimi Komla Agbloyor: Department of Finance, University of Ghana Business School, Ghana
Vera Ogeh Lassey Fiador: Department of Finance, University of Ghana Business School, Ghana
Nana Amaniampong Marfo: Department of Finance, University of Ghana Business School, Ghana

Tourism Economics, 2022, vol. 28, issue 4, 1009-1039

Abstract: Debates on the intricacies of tourism’s potential contribution to economic growth remain imperative and unsettled in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Employing dynamic models and multiple robust estimation techniques, this article empirically tests the tourism-led growth hypothesis (TLGH) in the case of SSA. Further investigations on how countries’ geographical locations influence the TLGH are conducted. With panel data – spanning from the year 2000 through 2016 – on 40 SSA countries, which were regrouped into coastal, landlocked and islands, the study establishes evidence in support of the TLGH for the full sample. After geographical classifications, tourism’s impact on economic growth is, however, observed to be significantly positive for only landlocked and coastal countries. Surprisingly, the impact of tourism on economic growth is significantly negative for islands within the subregion. The findings hold policy implications for the pursuit of tourism-led growth in the SSA region.

Keywords: dynamic panel models; economic growth; sub-Saharan Africa; system generalised method of moments; tourism dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:toueco:v:28:y:2022:i:4:p:1009-1039

DOI: 10.1177/13548166211015512

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