Realizing the 2050 Paris climate agreement in West Africa: the role of financial inclusion and green investments.

International organizations have emphasized the importance of global economies supporting efforts to combat climate change. The Paris Agreement or Agenda 2050 urges nations to ensure that the increase in global temperature is limited to 1.5 °C. Studies have analyzed the factors that contribute to harmful emissions, particularly carbon dioxide emissions, in order to limit temperature rise. However, since there are other equally harmful pollutants, this study evaluates the impact of financial inclusion and green investment on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The study uses data from West Africa, where environmental pollution has significantly increased. The study employed regression analysis while controlling for economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI), and energy consumption. The study's key findings reveal that financial inclusion and green investment have a monotonic effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the study confirms the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis and the pollution haven effect for the region. Technological innovation reduces pollution, but green investment and financial inclusion reinforce this effect. Therefore, the study recommends that governments in the sub-region commit to supporting green investment and environmentally friendly technological innovations. It is also crucial to strictly enforce laws regulating the operations of multinational corporations in the region.

Trend and relationship between environmental accounting disclosure and environmental performance for mining companies listed in China.

We examined the effect of environmental disclosure on environmental performance for listed mining companies in China. Our analysis used China's Environmental Information Disclosure Degree (EIDD) and the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission's disclosure guidelines to propose the Environmental Information Disclosure Index. Majority of previous studies on environmental disclosures focused on a particular company or city or province. Few studies considered a whole sector of a country. Among the few studies that considered a whole industry, none of such studies considered the mining industry. In addition, our study employed a recent environmental disclosure index and modified a recent index for environmental performance for the empirical analysis making our study unique. We also employed vigorous reliability and robustness test to ensure that our findings are valid and can be used by policy-makers. Using panel data for thirty-four mining companies from both Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange for the period 2000-2018, our cointegration estimation analysis concluded that corporate environmental performance and environmental information disclosure has a positive and significant relationship at a 1% level. Trend analysis revealed that mining companies comply with environmental information disclosure in China. This was seen from the great improvement in the environmental disclosure for mining companies between 2008 and 2010 after the enforcement of EIDD. Our results contribute to the previous literature and open the way for further studies on industry level in other countries.

Administrative Stressors and Islamic Coping Strategies Among Muslim Primary Principals in Malaysia: A Mixed Method Study.

Principals are school leaders who experienced stress while leading their schools towards excellence. However, principals stress experiences are always ignored and least studied. This mixed-methods study investigates primary principals' stress experiences and their Islamic coping strategies used in incapacitating the stress experiences. A total of 216 Muslim primary principals across different gender, types of schools and years of experiences as school leaders responded to the administrative stress and the Islamic coping strategies items. In addition, seven primary principals were purposefully selected and interviewed in exploring their reasons of using Islamic coping strategies for their relieving process. Results discovered that primary principals experienced fairly stress level and they perceived managing students' academic achievement was the most stressor followed by managing teachers' capabilities. Although findings revealed that no significant differences in terms primary principals' demographics; male primary principals, and experienced between 6 and 10 years and positioned in schools with least students (SLS) category have slightly higher level of stress. In terms of Islamic coping strategies used by primary principals, saying dhua to Allah, performing dhikir and reciting the Yassen are selected coping approaches employed in handling their stress. From interviews, primary principals also revealed that they used Islamic religious approaches as part of meaningful activities not just to overcoming their stress but also as part of religious approaches in remembering Allah, thinking back their past mistakes as part of the Muhasabah process. Therefore, we believed that religious approaches should be taken into consideration in principals' training as it provides peaceful and treatment in managing principals' stress issue.

Testing the impact of environmental taxation and IFRS adoption on consumption-based carbon in European countries.

Several governance regulations have been adopted in European countries to promote environmental sustainability, such as environmental taxation and environmental disclosures in financial reports. In this context, this paper examines the linkage between environmental taxation, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and environmental sustainability in European countries from 1994 to 2018. Unlike earlier empirical studies, the present work is the first to assess the impact of environmental taxation and IFRS adoption on consumption-based carbon emissions. In order to yield valid and reliable outcomes, the modern econometric method that is vigorous to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity was employed. Likewise, the study uses the novel method of moment quantile regressions (MMQR). The MMQR outcomes illustrated that environmental taxation significantly negatively affects consumption-based emissions in European countries, indicating that environmental taxation has a positive effect on the ecological sustainability. Besides, the findings show that IFRS negatively affects consumption-based emissions, while economic growth positively affects the level of consumption-based emissions. Therefore, European governments must use fiscal and financial policies to mitigate ecological pollution. Moreover, more environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure in European industries could also help promote environmental sustainability in European countries.

Is the effect of a health crisis symmetric for physical and digital financial assets? An assessment of gold and bitcoin during the pandemic.

The emergence of the covid-19 health crisis, in this advanced technological era where connections between markets, nations, and economies have grown stronger than ever before, the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic quickly had an impact on both physical and digital financial assets. The Chinese financial market experienced the first consequences of the covid-19 pandemic, then spilled over to other financial markets, including those for cryptocurrencies and the precious metals. This study examines the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the volatilities of the dynamics of bitcoin and gold. Both assets share some characteristics, such as online trading platforms, however, gold is a tangible financial asset unlike bitcoin, which is digitally generated without any physical form. This study argues that the similarities and differences between bitcoin and gold play major roles in how the covid-19 crisis affected their respective dynamics. Using daily data ranging from 9/22/2014 to 1/31/2023 and employing ARMA as the mean equation for GARCH model, the impact of the health crisis (covid-19) is examined on the volatilities of the prices and volumes of bitcoin and gold. Empirical evidence points out that, the pandemic has a symmetric impact on the volatilities of bitcoin and gold price returns, causing them to be more volatile. The impact of the covid-19 observed on the volume returns of the assets, however, is asymmetrical. The empirical results give evidence to the role that the vital differences existing between these assets played during the covid-19 pandemic.

Drivers of green growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: can financial development promote environmentally sustainable economic growth?

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recently declared its vision of turning carbon neutral by 2060. This declaration has motivated policymakers in this Arab nation to design policies that can green economic activities in Saudi Arabia so that environmentally sustainable growth can be ensured. Against this backdrop, this study models the independent and joint effects of financial development, globalization, and energy efficiency rates on green growth of the Saudi Arabian economy. In this regard, green growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proxied by the difference between the nation's annual per capita growth rates of gross domestic product and carbon dioxide emission. Utilizing data from 1972 to 2018 and controlling for structural break-induced problems found in the data, the findings from the regression and causality analyses confirm the green growth-inhibiting impacts of financial development and trade globalization. In contrast, greater financial globalization is evidenced to drive green growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, more efficient uses of energy resources are found to not only directly boost green growth but also partially neutralize the long-run green growth-dampening impacts associated with the development of the financial sector. In addition, financial development and trade globalization are observed to jointly inhibit green growth attainment both in the short and long run. In line with these important findings, it is recommended that the government of Saudi Arabia conceptualizes new green growth policies so that the nation's annual per capita economic growth rate outpaces its annual per capita growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions.

Revisiting the impact of trade openness on environmental sustainability in Belt and Road countries: a heterogeneous panel approach.

The nations participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are particularly vulnerable to the challenges posed by climate change due to their extensive trading activities. The need to protect the environment and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change in these countries is of utmost importance. Therefore, this study contributes to the scientific understanding of this issue by examining the relationship between trade openness and environmental sustainability in 89 BRI countries from 1990 to 2020. Additionally, control variables, including economic growth, energy consumption, urbanization, industrialization, and foreign direct investment, are considered to address omitted variable bias issues. The study utilizes the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) and Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) regression estimators, and the findings reveal that trade openness improves environmental sustainability. However, economic growth, energy consumption, urbanization, and industrialization degrade environmental sustainability. Interestingly, the results affirm foreign direct investment as a trivial determinant of environmental sustainability. Regarding causal relationships, reciprocal causalities are observed between trade openness and carbon emissions, energy consumption and carbon emissions, and urbanization and carbon emissions. Furthermore, one-way causalities exist from economic growth to carbon emissions and from carbon emissions to foreign direct investment. Nevertheless, no causal relationship is identified between industrialization and carbon emissions. Based on these significant findings, it is recommended that China, as a prominent player in the BRI, takes further steps to enhance and promote energy-efficient practices in BRI countries. One practical approach is the establishment of energy efficiency standards for the goods and services traded with these countries.

Assessing the combined effect of household cooking fuel and urbanicity on acute respiratory symptoms among under-five years in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: This study sought to investigate the association between urbanicity (rural-urban residency), the use of solid biomass cooking fuels and the risk of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) among children under the age of 5 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods: Cross-sectional data from the most recent surveys of the Demographic and Health Survey Program conducted in 31 sub-Saharan African countries were pooled for the analysis. The outcome variables, cough and rapid short breath were derived from questions that asked mothers if their children under the age of 5 suffered from cough and short rapid breath in the past two weeks preceding the survey. To examine the associations, multivariable negative log-log regression models were fitted for each outcome variable. Results: Higher odds ratios of cough occurred among children in urban households that use unclean cooking fuel (aOR = 1.05 95% CI = 1.01, 1.08). However, lower odds ratios were observed for rural children in homes that use clean cooking fuel (aOR = 0.93 95% CI = 0.87, 0.99) relative to children in urban homes using clean cooking fuel. We also found higher odds ratios of short rapid breaths among children in rural households that use unclean cooking fuel compared with urban residents using clean cooking fuel (aOR = 1.12 95% CI = 1.08, 1.17). Conclusion: Urbanicity and the use of solid biomass fuel for cooking were associated with an increased risk of symptoms of ARIs among children under five years in SSA. Thus, policymakers and stakeholders need to design and implement strategies that minimize children's exposure to pollutants from solid biomass cooking fuel. Such interventions could reduce the burden of respiratory illnesses in SSA and contribute to the realization of Sustainable Development Goal 3.9, which aims at reducing the number of diseases and deaths attributable to hazardous chemicals and pollution of air, water and soil.

Financial inclusion and environmental sustainability in Ghana: application of the dynamic ARDL estimator.

Numerous explorations have been conducted on the determinants of Ghana's environmental quality. However, to the best of my knowledge, there has been no research on the connection between financial inclusion and environmental sustainability in the country. This study was therefore conducted to help fill that gap. In attaining the aforestated goal, econometric techniques that yield valid and reliable outcomes were engaged. From the results, all the series were first differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long run. The DARDL estimator with the support of the conventional ARDL estimator was adopted to explore the marginal effects of the predictors on the explained variable, and from the results, financial inclusion worsened environmental sustainability in the nation via high carbon emissions. Also, foreign direct investments degraded the country's ecological quality validating the pollution haven hypothesis. Finally, trade openness, population growth, and energy consumption were detrimental to environmental sustainability in the nation. On the causal directions amidst the series, unidirectional causalities from financial inclusion and trade openness to carbon effusions were disclosed. Also, feedback causalities between foreign direct investments and carbon emissions; between population growth and carbon effluents; and between energy consumption and carbon exudates were unfolded. The study recommended among others that, financial establishments should not fund the production of carbon-intensive goods, but those that are friendly to the environment. The government can also help to improve environmental sustainability by establishing regulations to mandate financial entities to engage in eco-friendly activities.

Does energy consumption, economic growth, urbanization, and population growth influence carbon emissions in the BRICS? Evidence from panel models robust to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity.

This paper examined the nexus between economic growth, energy consumption, urbanization, population growth, and carbon emissions in the BRICS economies from 1990 to 2019. In order to yield valid and reliable outcomes, modern econometric techniques that are vigorous to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity were employed. From the findings, the studied panel was heterogeneous and cross-sectionally dependent. Also, all the series were first differenced stationary and co-integrated in the long run. The Augmented Mean Group (AMG) and the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) estimators were employed to estimate the elastic effects of the predictors on the explained variable, and from the output of both estimators, energy consumption worsened environmental quality via high carbon emissions. Also, the AMG estimator affirmed economic growth to be a significantly positive determinant of carbon emissions. However, both estimators confirmed urbanization and population growth as trivial predictors of the emissivities of carbon. On the causal connections amidst the series, there was bidirectional causality between economic growth and carbon emissions, between energy consumption and economic growth, between economic growth and population growth, between energy consumption and urbanization, and between economic growth and urbanization. Lastly, a causation from urbanization to carbon emissions was unfolded. Policy implications are further discussed.

Financial development and environmental sustainability in West Africa: evidence from heterogeneous and cross-sectionally correlated models.

Although West African nations are flourishing economically of late, they still have environmental issues due to the high rate of emissions in the bloc. Despite the worsening environmental condition, there have been limited studies on the causal agents of this situation in the region. Therefore, drawing strength from the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their targeted impacts of 2030, this study explored the nexus between financial development and environmental sustainability in West Africa (WA) for the period 1990 to 2016. The cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) estimator alongside the cross-sectionally augmented distributed lag (CS-DL) and the cross-sectional augmented error correction (CAEC) estimators were engaged to examine the elastic effects of the explanatory variables on the explained variable and from the results, financial development was harmful to environmental sustainability in WA through high carbon emissions. Also, control variables foreign direct investments, energy consumption, industrialization, and population growth were detrimental to the sustainability of the environment. On the causal connections amid the series, a unidirectional causality from financial development and population growth to carbon emissions was uncovered. Also, feedback causalities between foreign direct investments and carbon emissions, between energy consumption and the effluents of carbon, and between industrialization and environmental pollution were unraveled. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that the countries should integrate environmental welfare objectives into their financial development policies. Also, the nations should ensure that their citizens have access to energy that is affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern (SDG 7). Finally, improvement in energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and good use of resources (SDG 12) should be promoted by the nations. The above recommendations if seriously taken into consideration will help the region to combat climate change and its impacts, which is the focus of SDG 13. The main flaw of this exploration was the lack of data for some specific time periods. Therefore, in future when such data become available, similar investigations could be carried out to confirm the robustness of the study's results.

Green investments, financial development, and environmental quality in Ghana: evidence from the novel dynamic ARDL simulations approach.

Numerous studies have examined the influence of macroeconomic factors on environmental quality in Ghana. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no study on the connection between green investments, financial development, and environmental quality in the context of this Sub-Saharan African country. This study was therefore conducted to help fill this gap using annual frequency time series data ranging from 1970 to 2018. In attaining the objectives of this study, robust econometric techniques were employed. From the results, all the variables were first differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long run. The dynamic ARDL simulations technique with the support of the ARDL estimator was employed to examine the elastic effects of the predictors on the response variable, and from the discoveries, green investments improved environmental quality in Ghana both in the long and the short run via carbon dioxide mitigations. However, in both the long and the short run, financial development and energy utilization had a detrimental influence on environmental quality due to their positive influence on carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, the N-shaped association between national income and environmental pollution was validated for Ghana. On the causal directions amidst the variables, there was no causality between green investments and environmental degradation was evidenced; however, a bidirectional causality between financial development and environmental pollution was also discovered. Also, unidirectional causalities running from national income and energy consumption to environmental degradation were discovered. Based on the findings, the study recommend that investments in green sources should be intensified to help improve environmental quality in Ghana. Furthermore, improving developments in the financial sector is a vital means through which the country could attain its sustainable development goals.

Long-run equilibrium relationship between energy consumption and CO2 emissions: a dynamic heterogeneous analysis on North Africa.

Environmental protection and sustainable development are inextricably linked. This linkage is particularly crucial for North Africa, where the use of carbon-intensive energies has created environmental and economic challenges. Amazingly, limited studies on the connection between energy consumption and environmental quality has been conducted to help with policy options to minimize the above menace in the region. Inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, this study contributed to filling this gap by examining the energy consumption-CO2 emission nexus in North Africa for the period 1990 to 2018. In order to account for cross-sectional dependence, endogeneity, and slope heterogeneity that are mostly ignored by some conventional econometric techniques, this exploration adopted second generation econometric methods that are robust to the aforestated issues in its analysis. From the results, the studied panel was heterogeneous and cross-sectionally correlated. Also, the investigated series were first differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long-run. The cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) and the dynamic common correlated effects mean group (DCCEMG) estimators were adopted to explore the elasticities of the explanatory variables and from the results, energy consumption worsened environmental quality in the region due to its positive influence on CO2 emissions. Also, urbanization and economic growth increased the rate of CO2 emissions in the countries. On the causal connections amid the series, bidirectional causalities between energy consumption and CO2 emissions, between urbanization and CO2 emission, between economic growth and CO2 emissions, and between urbanization and energy consumption were unraveled. Finally, unidirectional causalities from economic growth to energy consumption, and from economic growth to urbanization were confirmed. It is recommended that countries in North Africa should shift to the consumption of clean energies to help them attain low-carbon economy. Unavailability of data for some periods was the major limitation of the study. Therefore, in future when such data become available, similar explorations could be conducted to confirm the robustness of the study's results.

Reinvestigating the pollution haven hypothesis: the nexus between foreign direct investments and environmental quality in G-20 countries.

One of the most commonly debated concerns regarding foreign direct investment inflows is the associated environmental adversities that accompany the influx of foreign funds. As a result, assessing the environmental impacts of foreign direct investment inflows is necessary for achieving environmentally friendly economic growth in the contemporary era. Accordingly, the global economies including the members of the Group of Twenty (G-20) should focus on attracting clean foreign direct investments. Against this backdrop, controlling for energy consumption and urbanization, this extant study scrutinizes the effects of foreign direct investment inflows on the carbon dioxide emission figures of selected G-20 countries between 1992 and 2018. The econometric analysis conducted in this paper involves recently developed methods that are efficient in handling cross-sectionally dependent heterogeneous panel data sets. Besides, the analysis is also conducted for sub-panels of high-, upper-middle-, and lower-middle-income G-20 countries to evaluate the possible heterogeneous environmental effects across the G-20 countries belonging to different income levels. Overall, the results highlight that higher foreign direct investment inflows surge carbon dioxide emissions whereby the pollution haven hypothesis is evidenced to hold for the G-20 nations of concern. Similarly, both at the aggregated and disaggregated levels, greater consumption of energy is witnessed to boost carbon dioxide emissions in the long run. Moreover, urbanization is found to trigger carbon dioxide emissions for the G-20 nations overall and the lower-middle-income G-20 nations. Further, the causality analysis reveals that carbon dioxide emissions have bidirectional causal relationships with foreign direct investment inflows, energy consumption, and urbanization. In line with these major findings, this study recommends that the governments of the G-20 countries inhibit inflows of dirty foreign direct investments, reduce fossil fuel dependency, and adopt green urbanization policies for achieving higher economic growth without marginalizing environmental well-being.

China's 2060 carbon-neutrality agenda: the nexus between energy consumption and environmental quality.

This study examined the nexus between energy consumption and environmental quality in light of China's 2060 carbon-neutrality agenda utilizing annual frequency data from 1971 to 2018. In order to obtain valid and reliable outcomes, more robust econometric techniques were employed for the analysis. From the results, all the variables were first differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long-run. The elastic effects of the predictors on the explained variable were explored through the ARDL, FMOLS, and the DOLS techniques, and from the discoveries, energy utilization worsened environmental quality in the country via more CO2 emissions. Also, industrialization and urbanization deteriorated the country's environmental quality; however, technological innovations improved ecological quality in the nation. On the causal connections between the variables, a unidirectional causality from energy consumption to CO2 effluents was discovered. Also, feedback causalities between industrialization and CO2 secretions, and between urbanization and CO2 exudates were disclosed. However, there was no causality between technological innovations and CO2 emanations. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that, since energy consumption pollutes the environment, the country should transition to the utilization of renewable energies. Also, the government should allocate more resources to the renewable energy sector. This will help increase the portion of clean energy in the country's total energy mix. Furthermore, research and development that are linked to the utilization of green energies should be supported by the government. Data constraints were the main limitation of this exploration. Therefore, in the future, if more data become available, similar explorations could be conducted to check the robustness of our study's outcomes.

Have international remittance inflows degraded environmental quality? A carbon emission mitigation analysis for Ghana.

Despite the considerable contributions of remittances to households and economic advancements, their environmental implications have received little attention in empirical research. This study was, therefore, conducted to help fill that gap, using Ghana as an evidence. In achieving the above goal, robust econometric methods that control for endogeneity, heteroscedasticity and serial correlation among others, were engaged for the analysis. From the results, the studied variables were first-differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long run. The elasticities of the predictors were explored via the FMOLS, DOLS and CCR estimators, and from the results, remittance inflows worsened the ecological quality in Ghana through high CO2 emissions. Also, population growth and energy utilization were not friendly to the country's environment; however, technological innovations improved environmental quality in the nation via low CO2 effusions. The VECM was employed to examine the path of causalities amidst the series, and from the results, there were bidirectional causalities between remittance inflows and CO2 emissions and between population growth and CO2 emanations. Also, a causation from energy utilization to CO2 effluents was discovered; however, there was no causality between technological innovations and CO2 exudates in the country. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that, authorities should enact regulations to control the activities of polluting industries that are being financed by remittances. Also, households and individuals should minimize their use of remittances to finance carbon-intensive items, like automobiles and air-conditioners among others, that add to environmental pollution in the country.

Effects of teacher licensing on educators' professionalism: UAE case in local perception.

There is neither a universally recognized teacher licensure system, nor consensus on the criteria for assessing how teacher licensing programs affect the quality of teachers. This is the study to assess the licensing program impact on the professional qualities of UAE teachers. The perception survey was piloted with a group of teachers from random UAE schools. A survey method with valid tests and descriptive statistics were used to determine the self-evaluation of teachers in a wide range of competencies related to licensing. Teacher self-evaluate themselves during the test accentuates strong social competence, while professional qualities and professional growth received significantly lower scores. A strong direct correlation was found between test size and participants' experience. There was no correlation between the quality of the assessment and gender or age factors. The results of the study are aimed at helping government and academic policymakers to obtain feedback from teachers on educational reforms. Both the results of the study and the methods of its implementation can be expanded beyond the UAU due to the typological similarity of problems of licensing of teachers in different countries. The originality and novelty of the research is presented by the analysis of the subjective assessment of their results by teachers who passed licensing for the first time in the conditions of UAE, where the licensing system is in the process of formation. The findings of the study demonstrate the points of further development of the newly created teacher licensing system.

Predictors of carbon emissions: an empirical evidence from NAFTA countries.

This study examined the predictors of carbon emissions in member countries of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Panel models robust to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity were used for the study. From the heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence tests, the studied panel was heterogeneous and cross-sectionally dependent. Also, the unit root and cointegration tests established the series to be first differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long run. Additionally, results of the CCEMG regression estimator in the whole panel affirmed economic growth (GDP) to be a significantly positive predictor of CO2 emissions, while foreign direct investments (FDI) and population growth (POP) were trivial determinants of CO2 emissions. The discoveries were however diverse in the individual countries. Finally, there was no causality between GDP and CO2 emissions and between POP and CO2 emissions. However, there was a one-way causality from CO2 emissions to FDI. Policy recommendations are further discussed.

Trade openness and CO2 emanations: a heterogeneous analysis on the developing eight (D8) countries.

The focus of this exploration was to examine the linkage between trade openness and CO2 effusions in the developing eight (D8) countries. An unbalanced panel dataset spanning the period 1990 to 2016 was employed for the study's analysis. From the results, the studied panel was heterogeneous and cross-sectionally correlated. Also, all the series gained stationarity after first difference and were materially cointegrated in the long run. The elastic effects of the input variables on the output variable were explored through the DCCEMG estimator, with the support of the AMG and the CCEMG estimators. From the results, trade openness increased CO2 emanations in the D8. Also, economic growth, energy consumption, and financial development promoted CO2 secretions in the nations; however, foreign direct investments mitigated the excretion of CO2 in the countries. On the causal connections amid the series, there was a bidirectional causality between trade openness and CO2 emanations. Also, a one-way causal movement from energy consumption, foreign direct investments, and financial development to CO2 effluents was discovered. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that effective trade policies that could enhance the transfer of cleaner technologies to the countries should be formulated.

Examining the determinants of water resources availability in sub-Sahara Africa: a panel-based econometrics analysis.

With the rapid development of economies, the problem of water resources availability particularly in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) has increased significantly. Specifically, in recent times, addressing the challenge of access to water resources has become a global issue of which countries in SSA are not exceptional since the adequate supply of potable water is as relevant as economic development. Consequently, this current paper seeks to estimate the determinants of water resources availability in sub-Sahara Africa. For this purpose, a panel-based regression model, which represents the availability of water resources, is specified based on the period 2000 to 2016 to examine a panel of 41 SSA countries sub-sectioned into low, lower-middle, and upper-middle-income nations. Considering the existence of residual cross-sectional reliance, outcomes based on the CIP and CADF unit root tests showed that the variables were not integrated at the same order. This thus leads to the employment of the PMG/ARDL estimation approach which unveiled that (i) agriculture production has a significant negative influence on H2O in the lower-middle and low-income panel of SSA countries whereas in the upper-middle-income panel, an insignificant impact is witnessed; (ii) CO2 emissions affect H2O palpably in the upper-middle-income SSA panel while for lower-middle and low-income panels, an adverse effect is identified; (iii) economic growth adversely influenced H2O resources in the lower-middle-income panel whereas in the case of the low-income panel, a significant positive liaison is evidenced; (iv) excluding low-income panel, industrial development concerning H2O has a significant negative influence in upper-middle and lower-middle-income panels; (v) urbanization homogeneously showed a positive relationship with H2O resources across all panels. The results are reconfirmed by the CCEPMG/CS-ARDL and MG employed as robust methods. Causality checks by Dumitrescu-Hurlin test finally revealed a mixture of results regarding the causal paths amid variables among the country panels. Policy recommendations have therefore been proposed based on the study findings.