Determinants of Economic Growth: The Role of Tourism, Trade Openness, Physical Capital, and Internet Use in the Case of BRICS Countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63556/tisej.2026.1951Keywords:
Economic Growth, Tourism, Physical Capital, Trade Openness, Internet UsageAbstract
This study aims to contribute to the debate on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by examining the effects of tourism, trade openness, physical capital, and internet use on economic growth. Sustainable and inclusive economic growth lies at the heart of countries’ priority policy agendas, particularly in relation to Goal 8 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Within this framework, countries seek to develop structural policies that support sustainable economic growth. Accordingly, this study empirically investigates the key determinants of economic growth in BRICS countries. For this purpose, tourism, trade openness, physical capital, and internet use were included in the analysis, using annual data covering the period 1995–2019. The Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator was employed because cross-sectional dependence was detected in the estimated model and the slope coefficients exhibited heterogeneity. This estimator offers an important methodological advantage by providing estimates for both the overall panel and individual cross-sectional units. The empirical findings varied between the overall panel and individual countries. Nevertheless, an assessment of the general pattern indicates that physical capital and internet use have statistically significant and positive effects on economic growth. By contrast, trade openness and tourism were found to have no statistically significant effect on economic growth. This finding demonstrates that the effects of these variables on economic growth are not universal but may vary depending on country-specific conditions. The results highlight the critical importance of considering country-specific dynamics when designing sustainable growth policies and prioritizing investments in digital infrastructure and physical capital.
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