Do fisheries and aquaculture production have dominant roles within the economic growth of Pakistan? A long-run and short-run investigation

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate and explore the connection between aquaculture and capture fisheries production and economic growth in Pakistan. Fisheries play an important role in Pakistan’s national economy, and Pakistan has sufficient fishery resources to be developed. Most of the population in the coastal areas depends on fisheries for their livelihood. Design/methodology/approach This research was based on time series data of aquaculture and capture fisheries production and the analysis of their relationship with economic growth in Pakistan. The study used an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to check the dynamic causality between the study variables. Findings The results showed that aquaculture and capture fisheries production have had a positive effect on the economic growth in Pakistan. Practical implications Better infrastructure for the fishing industry, increased government expenditure on facilities and financial support for the fish farmers could contribute to economic growth in the future. Recommendations for improvements in these areas have been made. Originality/value By using an ARDL bounds testing approach, this study contributes to the literature regarding fisheries production and economic growth in Pakistan.