Does the individual effect of resource rents imperative in the attainment of environmental sustainability? Evidence of Southeast Asian economies.

This study investigates the impact of natural resource exploitation on environmental sustainability in Southeast Asian economies, while testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) inverted U-shaped hypothesis, a model which suggests an initial increase in environmental degradation with economic growth followed by a decrease at a certain level of income. Utilizing World Development Indicators data from 1995 to 2018, the research dissects the long-term influence of various resource rents, namely coal, oil, and forest. The research highlights the indispensable role of renewable energy in maintaining ecological balance. Results indicate that while coal rent exacerbates environmental degradation, forest and oil rents prove eco-friendly, although this is only confirmed in fully modified OLS estimation. The study underscores the importance of forest rents in achieving environmental sustainability. Renewable energy emerges as vital for promoting sustainable low-carbon practices. In line with the EKC hypothesis, the study finds that economic growth initially increases carbon emissions, but eventually reduces them. It calls for appropriate measures to manage resource exploitation, ensure renewable energy availability, alleviate energy poverty, and curb deforestation, thereby mitigating ecological damage.

Impact of foreign direct investment on income inequality: Evidence from selected Asian economies.

The United Nations lists 17 Sustainable Development Goals for Agenda 2030, one of which is SDG-10, which focuses on eradicating inequality and addressing critical regional and global challenges. The fight against income inequality is heavily dependent on foreign direct investment all over the world. In this connection, the present study aimed to investigate the individual and interactive impact of foreign direct investment, human capital, and economic growth on income inequality by employing the interactive model. Based on the panel data set covering ten counties spanning each region of Asia from 1990 to 2020. In light of the slope homogeneity, cross-sectional dependency tests, and Westerlund co-integration test, we discover that all of the variables are cointegrated over the long run. A cross-sectional IPS (CIPS) unit root test is employed to check stationarity. Additionally, the study used the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) approach to produce accurate results in estimation. The results confirm that FDI affects inequality negatively. However, the impact of FDI is more effective in the presence of human capital. It means that human capital deepens the effect of FDI on inequality; the country will be more effective in reducing inequality by having a higher level of human capital and consider it a more powerful tool to bring equality. To reduce inequality, it is suggested that a policy mix of FDI and HC could be made.