The Impact of Tourism on Inequality in Iran (ARDL METHOD)

Iran is a country with several tourist places for the foreign tourists. This issue can attract
many tourists as well as it positively can affect the economic growth and income
distribution. Therefore, based on the importance of this point, the present paper tries to
study the tourism relationship and income distribution based on the time series data
(1976-2014) using ARDL model. The results showed that over a short time, arrival of
the foreign tourists is along with the negative and significant effects on the Gini
coefficient. In other words, the arrival of foreign tourists decreased the income
inequality. Also, during the long term, the coefficient of foreign tourists with -0.01
coefficient decreased Gini coefficient. As a result, this index decreased the inequality
during the long term. Based on the results, it is clear that tourism industry decreased the
inequality in Iran whether it happens during long term or short term.