Patience and climate change mitigation: Global evidence.

Complex policy problems such as climate mitigation have an economic, political, and social dimension. We focus on one of the social dimensions of climate change mitigation: the link between society-wide patience (future orientation) and adoption of public policies to combat global greenhouse gas emissions. Theoretically, future-oriented societies are more likely to accept current costs in exchange for long-run benefits posed by climate change mitigation than impatient (present-oriented) ones, cooperate in efforts to combat climate change, and support future-oriented governments. We evaluate this claim using evidence from a cross-section of countries. Controlling for other theoretically relevant factors, we find that patient societies are more likely to adopt public policies to mitigate climate change.

Does height matter for earnings? Evidence from Russia.

This study explores the link between height and earnings, using data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey for the year 2015 (24th wave). The dependent variable was average monthly income and the key independent variable was self-reported height, measured in centimetres. The empirical model also included a rich vector of personal and job-related factors that have been shown to be associated with earnings in the relevant literature. Sequential multiple regression and one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the data. The results suggest that height is a significant predictor of earnings in Russia. The results were found to be robust for a set of controls and tests.

Is there a link between cognitive abilities and environmental awareness? Cross-national evidence.

This article explores the effect of cognitive abilities on environmental awareness using data from 119 countries for the period 2005-2015. Our findings provide pioneering confirmation that a facet of human psychology, namely cognitive ability, is positively associated with environmentalism. The empirical estimations indicate that when cognitive abilities increase by one standard deviation, climate change awareness increases by approximately 19% (slightly less than one standard deviation). This positive association remains intact when we control for other determinants of environmentalism.

Are greenhouse gas emissions and cognitive skills related? Cross-country evidence.

Are greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and cognitive skills (CS) related? We attempt to answer this question by exploring this relationship, using cross-country data for 150 countries, for the period 1997-2012. After controlling for the level of economic development, quality of political regimes, population size and a number of other controls, we document that CS robustly predict GHG. In particular, when CS at a national level increase by one standard deviation, the average annual rate of air pollution changes by nearly 1.7% (slightly less than one half of a standard deviation). This significance holds for a number of robustness checks.

WHY DO SOCIETIES WITH HIGHER AVERAGE COGNITIVE ABILITY HAVE LOWER INCOME INEQUALITY? THE ROLE OF REDISTRIBUTIVE POLICIES.

Past studies suggest that, across nations, the average cognitive ability of a population is negatively associated with income inequality; societies with higher average cognitive ability tend to have lower levels of income inequality. However, it is not clear why. This paper proposes that social transfers from the wealthy to the poor may be a major mechanism by which some societies achieve lower income inequality than others, because more intelligent individuals may be more likely to have a preference for such transfers. Publicly available societal-level data were analysed in a series of multiple regression models. The empirical results in this study replicate the earlier finding that societies with higher cognitive ability have lower levels of income inequality, but the association is entirely mediated by social transfers. Social transfers therefore appear to be the primary mechanism by which societies with higher levels of cognitive ability achieve lower income inequality.

Climate change policies: The role of democracy and social cognitive capital.

The impact of democracy on governments' choice of environmental policies has attracted significant academic attention in recent years. However, less attention has been devoted to the role of the social cognitive capital of the national population. Does society's cognitive capital matter in governmental choice regarding environmental policies, if at all? This study addresses this question through a large-N analysis of 94 countries accounting for the role of both political regimes and social capital in governmental choice of climate change policies. We find that higher social cognitive capital within a democratic state radically increases that state's commitment to adopt environmental policies. More specifically, a 1-point increase in the democracy index is associated with nearly 5 points increase in the adoption of the Climate Laws, Institutions and Measures Index (CLIMI). In a similar vein, a 10 points increase in social cognitive capital is associated with a nearly 16 points increase in CLIMI. The findings presented in this study aim to contribute to the ongoing debate on the impact of democracy and the cognitive capital of society on international environmentalism. The findings will also be interesting for scholars working on the impact of political institutional factors and the role of society in environmental policy choices made at the international level.

Intelligence, democracy, and international environmental commitment.

This paper investigates the determinants of nations' commitment to environmental protection at the international level by focusing on the role of national intelligence and the level of democracy. The national intelligence is measured by nation's IQ scores. The findings based on a sample of 152 nations provide strong evidence that intelligence has statistically significant impact on ratification of international environmental agreements, and the countries with IQ 10-points above global average are 23% more likely to sign multilateral environmental agreements than others. The findings also demonstrate that it is the combination of high-level of intelligence of nations and democracy, that likely result in international environmental commitments.

The process of deforestation in weak democracies and the role of Intelligence.

This article examines the interconnection between national intelligence, political institutions, and the mismanagement of public resources (deforestations). The paper examines the reasons for deforestation and investigates the factors accountable for it. The analysis builds on authors-compiled cross-national dataset on 185 countries over the time period of twenty years, from 1990 to 2010. We find that, first, nation's intelligence reduces significantly the level of deforestation in a state. Moreover, the nations' IQ seems to play an offsetting role in the natural resource conservation (forest management) in the countries with weak democratic institutions. The analysis also discovered the presence of the U-shaped relationship between democracy and deforestation. Intelligence sheds more light on this interconnection and explains the results. Our results are robust to various sample selection strategies and model specifications. The main implication from our study is that intelligence not only shapes formal rules and informal regulations such as social trust, norms and traditions but also it has the ability to reverse the paradoxical process known as "resource curse." The study contributes to better understanding of reasons of deforestation and shed light on the debated impact of political regime on forest management.

Environmental factors and its influence on human health in BRICS: implications for human development.

BRICS economies are facing severe environmental issues that exert a detrimental impact on human health. The analysis intends to examine the impact of CO2 emissions, environmental policy stringency, and environmental innovations on health outcomes for the BRICS economies. The long-run results of the ARDL-PMG infer that CO2 has a significant negative in the life expectancy model while it has a significant positive in the death rate model. These findings imply that the rise in CO2 emissions reduces life expectancy and increases the death rate in BRICS economies. On the other side, the estimates of environmental innovation and environmental policy stringency are positively significant in the life expectancy model; however, in the death rate model, the estimate of environmental innovation is insignificant, and environmental policy stringency is negatively significant in the death rate model. In a nutshell, the findings imply that CO2 emissions exacerbate health problems, environmental innovations, and environmental policy stringency, improving the health status of the people. Our findings suggest that the BRICS economies should revisit their environmental policies for the betterment of human health.

Exploring the links between fossil fuel energy consumption, industrial value-added, and carbon emissions in G20 countries.

The primary objective of this study is to explore the links between fossil fuel energy consumption, industrial value-added, and carbon emissions in G20 countries over the period 1990-2020. Panel unit root test, co-integration test, and CS-ARDL estimator were used to determine the relationship among variables. The empirical results suggest that the driving force of carbon emissions in G20 countries varies significantly in advanced versus emerging economies. Evidence in a whole sample of G20 countries and advanced economies supports environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, while no evidence  emerging economies supports EKC hypothesis. Apart from this, the empirical results show trade opens, FDI, government expenditures on health and education, research and development, and information and communication technology are other determinators of carbon emissions in G20 countries. Our results suggest that countries upgrade industrial structures by shifting their energy structures away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy sources in order to achieve sustainable environmental goals.

Asymmetric macroeconomic determinants of renewable energy consumption: do financial institutions and ICT trade matter?

This study aims to examine the asymmetric impact of financial institutions and information and communication technologies (ICT) trade on renewable energy demand in BRICS economies by using the cross-sectionally augmented nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model. The asymmetric estimates of the financial institutions index confirm that a positive shock increases renewable energy consumption, and a negative shock reduces renewable energy consumption in BRICS economies. Similarly, the long-run asymmetric estimates attached to ICT trade are positively significant, confirming that a positive shock increases renewable energy consumption and a negative shock hurts renewable energy consumption. As far as country-wise estimates are concerned, the long-run asymmetric estimates of financial institutions are significant in Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa. Similarly, the asymmetric estimates attached to ICT trade are significant in Russia, China, India, and South Africa. The results are asymmetric in nature, implying that negative and positive shocks have different effects on renewable energy consumption. Therefore, policymakers should consider both negative and positive shocks in financial institutions and ICT trade while devising policies regarding environmental sustainability and renewable energy consumption.

Eco-innovation and environmental entrepreneurship: steps towards business growth.

Eco-innovations are widely considered the best possible solution to fight the menace of environmental degradation. Therefore, in this analysis, we try to examine the impact of eco-innovations and environmental entrepreneurship on SME performance in China from 1998 to 2020. In order to get the short- and long-run estimates, we have employed the QARDL model that can estimate across various quantiles. The findings of the QARDL model confirm the positive impact of eco-innovations in increasing the number of SMEs in the long run, as the estimates attached to eco-innovations are positive and significant across most quantiles. Similarly, the estimates attached to financial development and institutional quality are positively significant across most quantiles. However, in the short run, the results are inconclusive for almost all variables. As far as the asymmetric impact of eco-innovations on SMEs is concerned, it is confirmed both in the short and long run. However, the asymmetric impacts of financial development and institutional quality on SMEs are only confirmed in the long run. Based on the results, important policy suggestions are discussed.

Asian logistics industry efficiency under low carbon environment: policy implications for sustainable development.

Logistics is a crucial part of every business. The logistics sector not only contributes significantly to Asian economies but also has far-reaching effects on ecological and social concerns. Therefore, it is important to examine the factors that can affect the logistics performance of the country. Hence, the primary objective of the study is to estimate the impact of CO2 emissions, ICT, and human capital on the logistics performance of the 20 Asian economies. In order to investigate the relationship between the variables, we have employed the OLS, 2SLS, GMM, and panel quantile regression. The estimates of CO2 emissions and GHG emissions are significantly negative in 2SLS and GMM methods, implying that environmental pollution hurt logistic performance. The estimates of ICT and education are positively significant, suggesting that increased use of internet and higher education rate are crucial in improving logistics performance. In the panel quantile regression model, the estimates of CO2, internet, and education are insignificant at most quantiles except at a few higher quantiles. Thus, governments should invest in the development of efficient logistics infrastructure to achieve sustainable development.

Effect of environmental NGOs on human health in China: An empirical analysis.

The emergence of environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) has proved beneficial in improving environmental quality and related health issues. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the impact of ENGO on human health in China from 1995 to 2020. To investigate the relationship between the variables, we have employed the ARDL model. The ARDL model results demonstrate that the long-run impact of ENGO is negative on infant mortality and death rate, meaning that an increase in the proportion of ENGOs in China considerably decreases infant mortality and death rate. On the other hand, ENGOs have a favorable influence on life expectancy in China, demonstrating ENGOs' supporting role in raising birth life expectancy. In the short run, estimates of ENGOs have no substantial influence on newborn mortality and death rates in China, whereas ENGOs have a positive and significant impact on life expectancy. These results imply that ENGOs help improves people's health status in China, which is also supported by the rise in GDP, technology, and health expenditures. The causal analysis confirms the bi-directional causal link between ENGO and IMR and ENGO and LE, while the unidirectional causal link runs from ENGO to DR. The results of the study provide insights into the impact of environmental NGOs on human health in China and may help guide policies aimed at improving public health outcomes through environmental protection efforts.

Mitigations pathways towards sustainable development: assessing the influence of higher education on environmental quality in BRICS economies.

Education plays a significant role in the development of economies. This study empirically contributes to the literature by examining the impacts of higher education on CO2 emissions of BRICS economies over the period 1998-2020. For empirical analysis, we used the ARDL bound testing approach. The findings of the study show that higher education significantly and negatively contributed to the CO2 emissions of China and confirm the education-CO2-led hypothesis in the long run. The results of the study also reveal that higher education in Russia, India, and South Africa exerts a positive impact on CO2 emissions in the long run and rejects the education-CO2-led hypothesis. Moreover, financial inclusion has a negative impact on CO2 emissions in China, Russia, and South Africa, while financial inclusion positively affects CO2 emissions in only India in the long run. Based on findings, authorities should extend financial and social support for higher academic activities aimed at the mitigation of environmental pollution. Policymakers should also consider the synergy influence of financial inclusion in designing carbon mitigation policies.

Exploring the asymmetric determinants of consumption and production-based CO2 emissions in China.

Environmental pollution has intensified significantly in the last few decades. Policymakers have considered this issue due to its direct influence on human lives throughout the globe. This study explores the asymmetric determinants of consumption-based and production-based CO2 emissions for China, for time horizon 1990-2019. ARDL and NARDL regression approaches have been adopted for empirical investigation. The ARDL regression method reveals that GDP does not produce any impact on production-based and consumption-based CO2 emissions, while energy use contributes as an increasing determinant of consumption-based and production-based CO2 emissions in the long-run. The NARDL regression method reveals that a positive shock in GDP is beneficial for a decline of consumption-based CO2 emissions, while it does not reduce production-based CO2 emissions in the long-run. However, negative shock in GDP contributes as an increasing determinant of consumption-based CO2 emissions. Results also report that positive shock in energy use behaves as an increasing agent of consumption-based and production-based CO2 emissions in the long-run, while negative shock in energy use produces a decline in production-based CO2 emissions in the long-run. Thus, policymakers should adopt such demand and supply sides' management policies that contribute to controlling CO2 emissions.