International Tourism, Higher Education and Economic Growth: The Case of North Cyprus

摘要

This paper empirically investigated the long-run equilibrium relationship and causality between international tourism, higher education and real income growth in the TRNC, which is a non-recognised state that has political and economic relations only with mainland Turkey. Results of the present study reveal that a long-run equilibrium relationship exists between international tourism and real income growth, and between higher education and real income growth in North Cyprus. Both the long- and short-term effects of international tourism and higher education growth on the real income growth of the island are inelastic but statistically significant. Furthermore, this study revealed undirectional causalities running from international tourism to real income and from higher education to real income in the long term.