{"title":"The role of tourism in reducing economic inequalities: the case of Italy","authors":"Niccolò Comerio, Fausto Pacicco","doi":"10.1007/s40888-024-00344-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Although the level of extreme poverty has declined in recent decades, income inequality in many countries is at historic levels, thus representing a concern. Theoretically, tourism can play a crucial role in the fight against poverty and economic inequalities, but the limited existing literature has failed to reach a general consensus about this topic. By focusing on Italy, this paper investigates the extent of the role played by tourism in pursuing a reduction in income inequalities, while also observing effects on economic growth. In fact inequalities have also been increasing in Italy, but little is known about the role that tourism has played in this process. The main findings reveal that tourism is able to reverse the actual trend of increase in dispersion in terms of per capita income which characterized the Italian provinces from 2010 to 2019. This industry can therefore be effectively used as a tool to promote both the catching up of poorer provinces with richer ones, thus narrowing the income gap, and the reduction of overall income disparities among different provinces, leading to a more uniform distribution of wealth.</p>","PeriodicalId":44858,"journal":{"name":"Economia Politica","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Economia Politica","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40888-024-00344-z","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Although the level of extreme poverty has declined in recent decades, income inequality in many countries is at historic levels, thus representing a concern. Theoretically, tourism can play a crucial role in the fight against poverty and economic inequalities, but the limited existing literature has failed to reach a general consensus about this topic. By focusing on Italy, this paper investigates the extent of the role played by tourism in pursuing a reduction in income inequalities, while also observing effects on economic growth. In fact inequalities have also been increasing in Italy, but little is known about the role that tourism has played in this process. The main findings reveal that tourism is able to reverse the actual trend of increase in dispersion in terms of per capita income which characterized the Italian provinces from 2010 to 2019. This industry can therefore be effectively used as a tool to promote both the catching up of poorer provinces with richer ones, thus narrowing the income gap, and the reduction of overall income disparities among different provinces, leading to a more uniform distribution of wealth.
期刊介绍:
This journal publishes peer-reviewed articles that link theory and analysis in political economy, promoting a deeper understanding of economic realities and more effective courses of policy action. Established in 1984, the journal has kept pace with the times in disseminating high-quality and influential research aimed at establishing fruitful links between theories, approaches and institutions. With this relaunch (which combines Springer’s worldwide scientific scope with the Italian cultural roots of il Mulino and Fondazione Edison, whose research has been published by the two mentioned publishers for many years), the journal further reinforces its position in the European and international economic debate and scientific community. Furthermore, this move increases its pluralistic attention to the role that – at the micro, sectoral, and macro level – institutions and innovation play in the unfolding of economic change at different stages of development.