Green financial investment and its influence on economic and environmental sustainability: does privatization matter?

Green financial investment and privatization have been widely used as policy tools to promote economic growth and efficiency in many countries. However, their effects on environmental sustainability have been less explored. This study utilizes autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and quantile autoregressive distributed lag (QARDL) techniques to explore the effects of green financial investment and privatization on economic and environmental performance in China. Using data from 1995 to 2021, we analyze the impact of green financial investment and privatization on economic performance, measured by GDP per capita, and environmental performance, measured by CO2 emissions based on green finance and privatization theories. Our findings reveal that green financial investment has a beneficial effect on both economic and environmental performance. On the other hand, privatization has a positive impact on long-term economic performance, while also having negative consequences on environmental performance. These findings can inform evidence-based policies and strategies that promote both economic and environmental performance.

An analysis of the effects of human capital on green growth: effects and transmission channels.

In this digitalized world, economies have energetically encouraged green transformation. The empirical findings regarding the nexus between human capital and green growth are relatively inconclusive. The study originally explores the effect of human capital on the green growth of a digital economy like China from 1991 to 2019. To investigate the model empirically, we have applied the ARDL technique. Our results indicate that there is a positive impact of different levels of education on the green growth of China in the long run. Regression results also show that renewable energy consumption, internet use, and financial development lead to expansion in green growth in the long run. Our findings can strengthen the belief of the Chinese government on the advancement of green growth.

Green growth and environmental sustainability in China: the role of environmental taxes.

This study aims to investigate the impact of environmental-related taxes on green growth and CO2 emissions in China covering the time 1996-2019. To get the short- and long-run estimates, we have applied the bounds testing approach. Estimates of the study provide some important results. In the short run, environmental taxes and environmental policy stringency estimates are negatively significant in the CO2 emissions models and positively significant in the green growth models. Likewise, the long-run estimates attached to environmental taxes are significantly negative in the basic and robust CO2 emissions models while insignificant in the green growth models. However, the long-run estimates of environmental policy stringency are significantly negative in the basic and robust CO2 emissions models and significantly positive in the basic and robust green growth models. In general, our findings imply that an increase in environment-related taxes and strictness in environmental policies help reduce CO2 emissions and promote green growth in China.

Impact of good governance and natural resource rent on economic and environmental sustainability: an empirical analysis for South Asian economies.

Good governance and natural resource rent are important pillars of sustainable development. The paper explores the role of governance and natural resource rent in enlightening the economic, social, and environmental sustainability. To achieve this objective, panel data for six selected South Asian countries from 1996 to 2020 is used. The second-generation unit-root test of Pesaran and panel unit root test of structural break proposed by Karavias and Tzavalis (Computat Stat Data Anal 76: 391-407, Karavias and Tzavalis, Comput Stat Data Anal 76:391-407, 2014) are utilized to examine the stationarity of variables and results confirm that variables are stationary at first difference. We used the first-generation cointegration test, i.e., Pedroni (1999), Kao (1999), and (Westerlund, Oxford Bull Econ Stat 69:709-748, 2007) and second-generation cointegration given by (Westerlund and Edgerton, Oxford Bull Econ Stat 70:665-704, 2008) test to confirm the co-integration and make long-run analysis by using fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) models. For robustness we also estimated cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lag model which is important to deal with heterogeneous slope coefficients and unobserved common factor. To check whether the residuals of the model were cross-sectionally dependent or not, we used Breusch and Pagan (1980) and Pesaran (2004) tests and confirmed the heterogeneity among sample countries by using (Pesaran and Yamagata, J Econometr 142:50-93, 2008) homogeneity test. The coefficients of long run analysis conclude that governance improves the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) and is positively and significantly related to growth and social sector. Moreover, gross domestic product and trade openness are positively related to economic and social effect, whereas natural resources rent has a positive association with GGE. But the results confirm that with good governance, the natural resource rent can decrease greenhouse gas emissions. The recommendations of the study for policy purposes focus on that the governance will reduce GGE emissions and increase social and economic development and the countries should use more environment-friendly sources.

Revealing the nexus between tourism development and CO2 emissions in Asia: does asymmetry matter?

Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions in international tourism, economic growth, and CO2 emissions around the globe. However, the relationships between tourism and CO2 emissions are little and unclearly identified. The purpose of the study is to explore the asymmetric nexus between tourism and CO2 emissions in a panel of five high emitters Asian countries covering the period of 1995-2019 by using panel-NARDL-AMG. The empirical results reveal that a positive shock in tourism arrivals increases CO2 emissions, while a negative shock also increases CO2 emissions in the long run. Moreover, a negative shock has a greater effect on CO2 emissions than a positive shock in Asia in the long run. Tourism receipts are expected to maintain the robustness of CO2 emissions in the long run in Asian economies. The authorities should develop and design green international tourism activities in the Asian economies.

Targeting Women's vulnerable employment through social protection: A quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design.

In Pakistan, women face economic and social vulnerability, which keeps them underpaid even without social barriers. Government micro and macroeconomic policies are aimed at income generation rather than making women part of the economic mainstream. The cash transfer program is an essential component of social protection policy in the developing world, with one of its key objectives of raising women's financial autonomy. This research investigates the impact of Pakistan's first and largest cash transfer program, named Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), on women's vulnerable employment. BISP was initiated by identifying poor households based on poverty score cutoff, thereby exploiting Regression Discontinuity Design. The findings revealed that this program reduced vulnerable employment in the initial years of its inception. However, it does not impact the later follow-up years. Policymakers should take necessary measures so that women's non-vulnerable employment may improve.

The role of solar energy and eco-innovation in reducing environmental degradation in China: Evidence from QARDL approach.

In the past decade, researchers have shifted their interests to explore different ways to mitigate environmental degradation. In that context, the present study explores the role of solar energy and eco-innovation in reducing environmental degradation in China. The study utilized data for the period 1990-2018 and applied the latest available econometric technique, a quantile autoregressive distributed lag model, to determine the impacts of solar energy and eco-innovation on improving China's environmental quality. According to the empirical results, in the long term, solar energy is negatively and significantly associated with CO2 emissions at higher quantiles. Eco-innovation has proven to be the most important channel to mitigate CO2 emissions in China. Eco-innovation is exerting a negative and significant influence on CO2 emissions at all quantiles in the long term. In addition, the population size is causing CO2 emissions to surge significantly at lower quantiles. The empirical analysis reveals that per capita income (PI) is positively associated with CO2 emissions at all quantiles, but it is significant only at higher quantiles in China. We found evidence of unidirectional causality for eco-innovation to CO2 emissions and solar energy to CO2 emissions. However, for population and CO2 emissions, per capita income, and CO2 emissions, we found bidirectional causality. As indicated by our empirical results, solar energy and eco-innovation are the two most effective channels to control CO2 emissions in China. Therefore, policies based on the promotion of eco-innovation and the initiation of new solar energy projects can control emissions and improve environmental quality in China. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:555-571. © 2021 SETAC.

Environmental costs of political instability in Pakistan: policy options for clean energy consumption and environment.

Using time series data of Pakistan from 1990 to 2019, this study explores the asymmetric effects of political instability on clean energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The results from the traditional ARDL model show that political stability lessens environmental damage by reducing CO2 emissions in the long run. However, when we used the nonlinear ARDL approach, we found that political instability not only reduces the consumption of clean energy but also leads to damage environmental quality in the long run in Pakistan,while political stability not only increases the consumption of clean energy but also helps improve environmental quality in the short run in Pakistan. Thus, macroeconomic policies to promote expansion in clean energy consumption will directly stimulate green economic growth and environmental quality.

The role of eco-innovation and globalization towards carbon neutrality in the USA.

After the Paris Climate Conference (Conference of the Paris COP: 21), many countries started progressing towards carbon neutrality. In doing so, the present study aims to assess the role of eco-innovation and globalization in mitigating CO2 emissions in the case of the USA. The study applied Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag (QARDL) approach to estimate the short-run and long-run relationship among the selected variables. According to the empirical results, gross domestic product (GDP) positively influences the level of CO2 emissions for the USA economy at all quantiles. However, GDP square is negatively associated with CO2 emissions in the USA; therefore, our study supports the existence of EKC for the USA. Further, eco-innovation is the mitigating factor of CO2 emissions in our empirical analysis. Our study proved that globalization is the stimulating factor of CO2 emissions in the US economy. The empirical estimates of the Granger causality test show the bidirectional causality from GDP, eco-innovations, and globalization to GDP for the USA economy. To mitigate CO2 emissions, the study provides useful insights for policymakers in the USA economy.

Asymmetric macroeconomic determinants of CO2 emission in China and policy approaches.

Since the nonlinear ARDL approach is introduced in advanced econometric, some old relationships are getting new empirical attention. Therefore, we examine the asymmetric macroeconomic determinants of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in China, covering the time from 1971 to 2019 and using a nonlinear ARDL model. The study results show that GDP and industrialization have an asymmetric effect on CO2 emission in long-run in direction and magnitude, while agriculturalization has also an asymmetric effect on environmental pollution in magnitude, but not in the direction. In short, GDP and industrialization have also asymmetric response on CO2 emissions in the short term only in magnitude, but agriculturalization has an asymmetric response in magnitude and direction in short-run. Therefore, this empirical research is more applicable for policymakers in China.

The shadow economy in South Asia: dynamic effects on clean energy consumption and environmental pollution.

This study explores the symmetric and asymmetric effects of the shadow economy on clean energy and air pollution of South Asian countries over the period 1991-2019. The short-run ARDL findings for the clean energy model suggest that shadow economy increases clean energy consumption in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, whereas this effect is negative for India and insignificant for other countries. The long-run results indicate the adverse impact only for India and the effects of tax revenue on clean energy are positively significant in Sri Lanka while negatively signiicant in Nepal and Bangladesh. Institutional quality significantly increases clean energy in Pakistan, India, and Nepal. However, in the case of Pakistan and Nepal, institutional quality deteriorated the environmental quality. The results for the pollution model confer that shadow economy increases emissions in Pakistan, decreases in Bangladesh and Nepal, and has no effect in India and Sri Lanka. The nonlinear ARDL results reveal that the positive components of the shadow economy significantly increase clean energy consumption only in Pakistan; however, the negative components of the shadow economy are negatively significant in all countries except Sri Lanka and Nepal. However, the negative component of the informal sector of the economy reduces CO2 emissions in India and increases CO2 emissions in Bangladesh and Nepal. The results offer important policy implications for achieving clean energy and better environmental quality in South Asian countries.

Asymmetric effects of militarization on economic growth and environmental degradation: fresh evidence from Pakistan and India.

To examine the asymmetric effects of militarization on economic growth and environmental degradation, this empirical research analyzes annual data of Pakistan and India over the period 1985-2018 using the NARDL econometric model. The empirical results show significant positive militarization effects on economic growth, while non-militarization also shows positive effects on the economic growth in Pakistan and India. Estimation showed that a 1% increase in militarization (non-militarization) led to 8.818% (3.849%) increase in GDP growth, whereas a 1% increase in militarization (non-militarization) decreased carbon emissions by - 1.034% (- 0.225%) in the long run in Pakistan, while militarization has also decreased the carbon emissions - 0.337% in India in the long run. The relationship between militarization and economic growth has an asymmetry in Pakistan and India in the short and long run, while asymmetry also exists between militarization and CO2 in Pakistan and India in the short and long run. Our findings offer significant policy implications for promoting economic growth and environmental quality in Pakistan and India.

Examining the asymmetric effects of Pakistan's fiscal decentralization on economic growth and environmental quality.

This study aims to investigate the asymmetric fiscal decentralization effect on economic growth and environmental quality by using Pakistan data from 1984 to 2018. Our findings demonstrate that expenditure decentralization has asymmetric effects on economic growth and CO2 emissions in short- and long-run in Pakistan. Therefore, positive and negative fluctuations in expenditure decentralization affect economic growth and CO2 emissions differently in Pakistan. The results of asymmetric ARDL suggested that negative shock of revenue decentralization is reduced the economic growth and CO2 emissions in the short and long-run, while positive shock of revenue decentralization is reduced the economic growth and CO2 emissions. Our asymmetric results are country-specific and more effective in policy analysis in Pakistan. The outcomes of this study may also help Pakistan's local governments and the central government in addressing the problem of economic growth and environmental pollution.