An Asymmetric Investigation of Remittance and Trade Openness Impact on Inequality: Evidence From Selected South Asian Countries

This study’s motivation is to explore the relationship pattern between remittance, trade openness, and inequality of selected south Asian countries for the 1976–2018 period. The study performed non-linear tests, including unit root tests, non-linearity applying ordinary least squares (OLS) and BDS tests, non-linear autoregressive distributed lagged (NARDL) tests, and asymmetry causality tests to assess their association. Study findings with non-linear unit root tests suggest that the research variables follow the non-linear process of becoming stationary from non-stationary. The non-linear OLS and BDS test results confirm the existence of non-linearity among research variables, implying rejection of the null hypothesis of “no non-linearity.” Furthermore, the results of the Wald test in NARDL confirm the availability of asymmetric links among variables. Besides this, the results of NARDL confirm the long-run asymmetric relationship between remittances, trade openness, and inequality in all sample nations. Findings suggest that both positive and negative shocks in remittances and trade openness is critical to either instituting or vexing the present state of inequality in the economy in the long term. In the directional relationship with asymmetry causality, the study shows that the feedback hypothesis holds to explain the asymmetric causal effects that are positive shocks in remittances and trade openness toward inequality.