Assessing the asymmetric impact of physical infrastructure and trade openness on ecological footprint: An empirical evidence from Pakistan.

This study analyzed the asymmetric impact of the physical infrastructure and trade openness on Pakistan's ecological footprint over the period 1970-2019 using the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag model. The study results posit that positive and negative shocks to physical infrastructure increase and decrease the ecological footprint asymmetrically in the short-run and symmetrically in the long-run. Likewise, the positive and negative shocks to trade openness increase and decrease the ecological footprint asymmetrically, both in the short and in the long run. Furthermore, urbanization also positively and significantly increases Pakistan's ecological footprint in the short and long run. Moreover, a 1% increase in physical infrastructure increases the ecological footprint by 0.32%, while a 1% decrease in physical infrastructure decreases the ecological footprint by 0.33% in the long run. Similarly, a 1% increase in trade openness causes a 0.09% increase in the ecological footprint in the long term, while a 1% reduction in trade openness causes a 0.61% reduction in the ecological footprint. The results also conclude that urbanization is a major determinant of Pakistan's long-term ecological footprint. Thus, a 1% increase in urbanization causes a 1.31% increase in the ecological footprint in the long run. Finally, this study recommends that policies regarding physical infrastructure be formulated keeping in view its environmental impact. In addition, strict environmental policies should be implemented to reduce the environmental degradation effect of trade openness.

The impact of fiscal decentralization, green energy, and economic policy uncertainty on sustainable environment: a new perspective from ecological footprint in five OECD countries.

The paper explores the short-run and long-run asymmetric impact of fiscal decentralization, green energy, and economic policy uncertainty on environmental sustainability proxied by ecological footprint. Using the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed lag (NARDL) approach in selected five OECD countries, we find that ecological footprint responds to positive and negative fiscal decentralization asymmetrically in the long run and short run. However, the nature of the response varies significantly across countries. The result also suggests that green energy is a major factor in reducing the ecological footprint in all countries except Canada. Finally, economic policy uncertainty plays a negative and significant role in the ecological footprint in the UK, USA, and Germany while insignificant in Australia and Canada. Implications for effective environmental policies are discussed.

Fiscal policy and environment: a long-run multivariate empirical analysis of ecological footprint in Pakistan.

The ecological footprint attempts to quantify human impact on nature and its resources necessary to satisfy human needs. This research study explores the long-run implications of fiscal policy on the ecological footprint in Pakistan empirically, keeping different socio-economic factors into consideration. Per annum, time series data have been collected between 1976 and 2018, and the ARDL model is applied to investigate this long-run and short-run association. The conclusion of ARDL model shows that a 1% increase in public development expenditures, total population, GDP, and energy consumption increase 0.19, 2.17, 1.16, and 2.17% ecological footprint, respectively, in Pakistan between 1976 and 2018 vice versa. However, it is also derived that a 1% increase in public tax and non-tax revenue and current public expenditures (in health, education, and other social sectors) shrink 0.36 and 0.013% ecological footprint in the long run in Pakistan. For policy implications, these results focus on practical fiscal policy significance to achieve environmental targets in Pakistan, suggesting an increase in public current expenditures in public and social sectors and increasing public revenue by expanding the tax base, which will ultimately reduce ecological footprint in the long run in Pakistan.