A green ideology in Asian emerging economies: From environmental policy and sustainable development

Aims: This study examined the relationship between trade openness, exchange rates, and unemployment in ECOWAS countries. It investigated whether increased trade openness reduces or exacerbates unemployment and how exchange rate fluctuations impact labor markets. The analysis is grounded in a theoretical framework that integrates trade theory, labor market dynamics, and macroeconomic stability to contextualize the empirical findings. Study Design: A panel econometric approach was employed, utilizing both Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) methods to ensure robust estimates. Place and Duration of Study: The study covered 15 ECOWAS countries, with panel data spanning from 1991 to 2020, sourced from the World Bank Development Indicators (WDI). Methodology: The research applied panel unit root tests (Im, Pesaran, and Shin; ADF; and Phillips-Perron) to determine variable stationarity. Pedroni co-integration tests confirm long- term relationships among trade openness, exchange rates, GDP, population growth, and unemployment. The FMOLS and DOLS models are then used to estimate the effects of these variables on unemployment. Results: Findings indicate that trade openness has a positive and statistically significant effect on unemployment (FMOLS: 5.43, p<0.01; DOLS: 2.71, p<0.01), suggesting that increased trade is associated with higher unemployment. Conversely, exchange rates (FMOLS: -3.47, p<0.01; DOLS: -3.63, p<0.01) and GDP growth (FMOLS: -3.26, p<0.01; DOLS: -2.48, p<0.01) negatively correlate with unemployment, implying that economic growth and stable exchange rates help reduce joblessness. The population growth rate is significant in the DOLS model (1.87, p<0.10), indicating a nuanced effect on unemployment. The models demonstrate high explanatory power (R² = 0.88 for FMOLS; R² = 0.95 for DOLS). Conclusion: The study highlights the complex interplay between trade, exchange rates, and employment in ECOWAS countries. Policymakers should balance trade policies with labor market reforms to mitigate unemployment. Stabilizing exchange rates and fostering economic growth through industrial and workforce development programs are crucial strategies for sustainable employment generation. However, the study acknowledges limitations, including potential omitted variable bias and the challenges of generalizing findings across diverse economies. Future research could explore sector-specific impacts of trade openness and exchange rate volatility, as well as the role of institutional quality in shaping labor market outcomes.

Purpose: The study’s objectives were twofold. Firstly, to examine the determinants of foreign direct investment in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). Secondly, the study explored whether the complementarity between trade openness and infrastructural development was one of the drivers of foreign direct investment inflows into BRICS during the period under study.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used fixed effects, dynamic ordinary least squares (dynamic OLS) and the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) with data ranging from 1994 to 2020.
 Findings: Trade openness (FMOLS, dynamic OLS, fixed effects), economic growth (FMOLS) and exchange rates (fixed effects, FMOLS) were found to have had a significant positive effect on foreign direct investment inflow into BRICS. The study also noted that the influence of inflation (fixed effects), financial development (fixed effects, FMOLS) and human capital development (FMOLS, fixed effects) on foreign direct investment was significantly negative.
 Implications/Originality/Value: To attract more foreign direct investment inflows into their countries, BRICS authorities are urged to develop and implement policies geared towards enhancing trade openness, economic growth and strength of their local currencies.

This study assesses the relationship between economic performance and environmental sustainability by taking into account the role of energy consumption, urbanization, and trade openness in Brazil by using data spanning from 1965 to 2019. The study is distinct from previously documented studies in literature in terms of scope for Brazil, where few entries have been recorded. The major objectives are to address the questions: (a) Is there a long-run connection between the variables under consideration? (b) Can CO2 emissions, trade openness, and energy consumption predict economic performance of Brazil? (c) What is the connection between economic growth and the independent variables at different frequencies and time-period? Furthermore, the study utilized dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), Maki Cointegration, and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) to capture the long-run association between the variables of interest. Also, we used the Wavelet coherence and Gradual-shift causality tests to capture the causal linkage between economic growth and the regressors. The advantage of the wavelet coherence test is that it can capture causal linkage between series at different frequencies and periods. The outcome of both Maki cointegration and ARDL bounds testing to cointegration affirms the presence of long-run interaction among the parameters of interest. Furthermore, the outcomes of the DOLS and FMOLS revealed that energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and urbanization exert positive impacts on economic growth in Brazil while there is no significant connection between trade openness and economic growth. Moreover, Gradual shift causality test outcomes disclosed that urbanization, trade openness, CO2 emissions and energy usage can predict the economic performance of Brazil. The outcomes of the wavelet coherence test give credence to the FMOLS, DOLS, and Gradual shift causality tests.

Environmental policies and green technologies: Impacts on energy sustainability in the African continental free trade area

The dynamics of green innovation, environmental policy and energy structure for environmental sustainability; Evidence from AfCFTA countries

Asymmetric and moderating role of industrialisation and technological innovation on energy intensity: Evidence from BRICS economies

This paper adds to the existing body of knowledge by incorporating the role of fiscal decentralization (FD) in influencing CO2 emissions. Therefore, this study looked at the effect of FD on CO2 emissions in the presence of nonrenewable energy consumption (NRE), renewable energy consumption (REN), gross domestic product (GDP), and trade openness (TOP) for the period 1994–2018 in Japan. Thus, the current work intends to fill this knowledge gap by employing econometric techniques such as Bayer and Hanck cointegration, dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), and canonical cointegration regression (CCR). Additionally, the frequency domain causality analysis is used in the investigation to determine the causal impact of FD, NRE, REN, GDP, and TOP on CO2 emissions. The novelty of the frequency-domain approach is that it can differentiate between nonlinearity and causality levels and show causality among parameters with different frequencies. The DOLS, FMOLS, and CCR results reveal that NRE, GDP, and TOP augment CO2 emissions in Japan, whereas FD and REN increase the quality of the atmosphere. Furthermore, the frequency causality test results show that FD, REN, GDP, and TOP have implications for CO2 emissions in the long run, while NRE raises CO2 emissions in the medium run. As a policy direction, the current study suggests expanding renewable energy consumption in Japan by emphasizing more on Sustainable Development Goals (7, 8, and 13).

Some of the globe’s most economically advanced nations make up the G7 (Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, United States and United Kingdom). Nevertheless, in tandem with such strong economic growth, the environmental conditions in these nations have deteriorated, raising serious issues among stakeholders. Therefore, we examine the effect of eco-innovation and trade openness on CO2 emissions in G7 nations. We also take into account the role of renewable energy, economic growth and nonrenewable energy use using a dataset covering the period from 1990–2019. We employed recent econometric techniques such as slope heterogeneity (SH) and cross-sectional dependence (CSD), Westerlund cointegration, fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), panel quantile regression and panel causality tests to assess these associations. The outcomes of the CSD and SH tests disclosed that using a first-generation unit root test will produce biase outcomes. Furthermore, the outcomes of the Westerlund cointegration disclosed support long-run association between CO2 and its drivers. In addition, the results of the long-run estimators (FMOLS and DOLS) unveiled that nonrenewable energy and trade openness contribute to the damage to the environment while economic expansion, renewable energy and eco-innovation enhance the quality of the environment. Furthermore, the outcomes of GDP, REC and ECO curb CO2 while NREC energy and TO surge CO2. Finally, the outcomes of the panel causality test unveiled that CO2 emissions can be predicted by all the exogenous variables.

Research background Globalization has provided both turmoil and opportunities for most developing countries, as well as Turkiye and Poland. It brings about structural transformation in both countries. Purpose This paper investigates the effect of economic globalization on industrialization in Turkiye and Poland through annual data covering 1995–2022. Research methodology The paper performs fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), canonical cointegrating regression (CCR) estimators, and the Toda-Yamamoto causality test. Results The empirical results indicate that foreign direct investment (FDI) inward negatively affects manufacturing value-added (MVA), whereas the labour force positively affects it in Turkiye. However, trade openness has an insignificantly positive influence on MVA. Furthermore, FDI, trade openness, and the labour force significantly and positively affect MVA in Poland. Besides, the Toda-Yamamoto causality test results vary for Turkiye and Poland. Novelty The work’s originality is examining and comparing the role of trade openness and FDI separately on MVA for Turkiye and Poland. Moreover, this study performs three estimators (FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR) to obtain robust results and investigate the causality relationship among variables for both countries.

The concept of environmental sustainability formed the basis of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations conference in Rio de Janeiro. Empirically, without environmental sustainability, everything else could fall apart or be aimless. This study investigates factors affecting global environmental sustainability spanning 1966Q1 to 2019Q4. However, there are many micro-/macroeconomic factors engendering the environment, and the absence of robust clarity on whether factors such as economic growth, urbanization, trade openness, and energy consumption matter for global environmental sustainability remains a global academic dilemma in the economics literature. This paper utilized the unrestricted nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) bounds test techniques to model their relationship. Furthermore, the study adopted fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), and canonical cointegrating regression (CCR) methods to test the research hypothesis, catering to the problem of endogeneity and serial correlation. Up-to-date of this study, no empirical study has examined the nexus of these variables within the global framework. The outcomes suggested that (i) NARDL bounds test of cointegration confirmed evidence of long-run and short-run relationships among the variables; (ii) long-run asymmetric relationship was affirmed among the variables; and (iii) DOLS, FMOLS, and CCR models demonstrate that economic growth, energy consumption, and trade openness are positively significantly correlated with environmental sustainability except for economic growth which shows negative and insignificant correlation. These findings validate the protracted argument in literature that these estimated variables are significant for global environmental sustainability. This study recommends that environmental policymakers integrate global economic incentives with favorable regulatory changes for achieving the goals of a global sustainable environment in the long-run equilibrium.

East Africa has a substantially greater rate of food insecurity than other regions of the world. Scenarios of climate change and other macroeconomic variables are important contributors to food insecurity in East Africa. Using data spanning from 1990 to 2020, this study looked into the influence of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, economic growth, population growth, trade openness, and agricultural employment on food security in the East Africa. The fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) models were used in this study. The heterogeneous panel cointegration test's findings indicated that the study variables have an equilibrium long-term connections. The estimation findings from the FMOLS and DOLS models showed that an increase in CO2 emissions increases food security in the East Africa over the long term. According to other findings, long-term food security is positively impacted by economic expansion, population growth, trade openness, and employment in agriculture. However, trade openness has a detrimental long-lasting effect on food security. Future research directions, research limitations, and policy implications are discussed.

This article investigates the long-run relationship between openness in financial services trade (OPTIFS) and financial development in five BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economies, for the period of 1990–2012. It is found that the variables under consideration possess a long-run relationship in the mentioned economies. Fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) have been performed to find the long-run coefficient of the variables. Results from FMOLS and DOLS have confirmed that OPTIFS has a positive and significant impact on financial development. The study reveals that 1 per cent increase in trade in financial services causes 0.109 increase in total credit to private sector, which is used as a proxy for financial development, indicating that the government should try to remove barriers from trade in financial services in order to develop better financial structure, thereby promoting further growth. It is also found that some of the control variables like gross savings and gross domestic product have positive and significant impact on financial development at 5 per cent level of significance

The development of green innovation in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is gaining popularity in recent works. However, the perspective from emerging economies is limited leaving them behind in the drive toward global sustainability. Therefore, this study provides new insights into how green innovation development and the quality of institutions have influenced green energy adoption and overall Sustainability using 30 emerging economies from 1990 to 2020. The study employs three econometric models—Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) to make a comparative analysis. The findings show the varying and pivotal role of technological advancements, institutions, and green energy in reducing carbon footprints based on models. Notably, it was found that green innovation had a positive effect (FMOLS), and negative effect (DOLS and OLS) on CO2 emissions. Renewable energy had a negative effect (FMOLS and OLS), and a positive effect (DOLS) on CO2 emissions. Again, institutional quality showed a positive effect (DOLS and FMOLS) and a negative effect (OLS) on CO2 emissions. The study believes the DOLS model exhibited the most robust explanatory power, with the highest explanatory power of 99.9%. These results provide greater insights and the comprehensive policies outlined can help policymakers formulate working policies to bolster green innovation, improve green energy development, and strengthen institutional frameworks toward achieving overall SDGs.

Introduction: Inclusive growth (IG) is a revolutionary method for generating and sustaining macroeconomic stability through economic development, social equity, and prosperity. There has been little theoretical and empirical study in Nigeria on analyzing the effects of trade openness on inclusive growth and exploring its determinants. Methods: This study examines the intermediating roles of institutional infrastructure in the trade openness-inclusive growth nexus in Nigeria spanning from 1985 to 2021. The study employed the Johansen Cointegration methodology to confirm the existence of the long-run association while fully modified ordinary least squares (FM-OLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) techniques are used to elucidate the uncertainty in the trade openness-inclusive growth nexus. Results: Consequently, the results of the Johansen Cointegration confirmed the long-run association among variables. The FM-OLS and D-OLS indicate that trade openness enhances growth in Nigeria, suggesting that greater trade openness would foster inclusive growth and remain a focal point for both direct and indirect relations with inclusive growth. The interaction effects of trade openness and institutional infrastructure on inclusive growth show negative and insignificant effects on inclusive growth, demonstrating that institutional infrastructure plays a mitigating influence in the relationship between trade openness and inclusive growth, albeit insignificant at a 5% level. Conclusion and suggestion: The study recommends that Nigeria should pursue policies aimed at improving institutional infrastructures with a way of reducing transactional costs and risks related to trading.

In selected South Asian countries, the study intends to investigate the relationship between urban population (UP), carbon dioxide (CO2), trade openness (TO), gross domestic product (GDP), foreign direct investment (FDI), and renewable energy (RE). Fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) models for estimation were used in the study, which covered yearly data from 1990 to 2019. We used Levin–Lin–Chu, Im–Pesaran–Shin, and Fisher PP tests for the stationarity of the variables. The outcomes of the panel cointegration approach looked at whether there was a long-run equilibrium nexus between selected variables in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. The FMOLS approach was also used to assess the relationship, and the results suggest that there is a significant and negative nexus between FDI and renewable energy in south Asian nations. The study’s findings reveal a strong and favorable relationship between GDP and renewable energy use. In South Asian nations (Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh), the FMOLS and DOLS findings are nearly identical, but the authors used the DOLS model for robustification. According to the findings, policymakers in South Asian economies (Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh) should view GDP and FDI as fundamental policy instruments for environmental sustainability. To reduce reliance on hazardous energy sources, the government should also reassure financial sectors to participate in renewable energy.