Research Note: The Tourism-Led Growth Hypothesis for Uruguay

Abstract

This paper analyses the effects of tourism on the long-run economic growth of Uruguay. Using quarterly data from 1987.I to 2006.IV, the study uses cointegration analysis and shows the existence of a cointegrated vector among Uruguayan real per capita GDP, Argentinean tourism expenditure (the principal source of tourism in Uruguay) and real exchange rate between Uruguay and Argentina. It also shows that there is a positive causality relationship between Argentinean tourism expenditure and real per capita GDP of Uruguay. Finally, the authors compare this study with similar papers investigating the tourism-led growth hypothesis.