The relationship between human development, tourism and economic growth: Evidence from Malaysia

Abstract

A remarkable feature of empirical studies is that not many research works investigate the relation between human development and tourism. Although gross domestic product may replace human development to measure economy progress and human well-being in relation to tourism, however, this definition, is narrow, limits to economic side, and ignores the social and cultural factors. To overcome this shortcoming, this study examines the relationship between human development, tourism and economic growth in Malaysia. By using different cointegration approaches, the results indicate that tourism is positively related to human development in the long run. The finding suggests that the known relationship may serve as a guide to policy makers to achieve better development of social and cultural in order to promote the growth.