Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI) and corruption. Design/methodology/approach -Data for 42 developing countries and 28 developed countries is analyzed using panel dynamic ordinary least squares. Findings -FDI has a significant influence on economic growth in both the short run and the long run for developing and developed countries. In the cases of the developing economies, lower levels of corruption enhance the impact that FDI has on economic growth. Originality/value -The study links corruption to the impact of FDI on economic growth.

This article seeks to investigate whether there is a causal relationship between tourism growth and economic growth in the Bahamas, Barbados, and Jamaica. Several empirical studies have advanced evidence to support the idea that tourism growth promotes economic growth in a number of countries. Using the cointegration test and a vector autoregression model, this article was able to establish that no equilibrium exists between tourism receipts and gross domestic product in any of the countries studied. The Granger Causality Test, however, does confirm the existence of a shortterm relationship.

This study (i) investigates the debt-growth nexus and the non-linearity issue using panel dynamic ordinary least squares estimations and threshold dynamics in 13 Caribbean countries, (ii) calibrates an optimal debt/GDP ratio for each country using a modified Blanchard (1983) exercise, and (iii) tests the crowding out hypothesis by examining the debt-investment link. The empirical results support the view that there is a non-linear relationship between debt and growth. The findings suggest that there is a global tipping point for the debt/GDP ratio of 61 percent beyond which debt adversely impacts growth and investment. At the country level, the results show marked divergence between actual debt/GDP ratios and the calibrated optimal ratios. The empirical findings have policy relevance for Caribbean countries that are challenged by persistent high debt and low growth in the context where development is financed largely by debt accumulation.

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