Asymmetric impact of financial development, trade openness, and environmental degradation on economic growth in Venezuela.

Abstract

This study assesses the asymmetric impact of financial development, trade openness, and environmental degradation on economic growth in Venezuela between 1980 and 2019 using the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model. Findings from the bounds test indicate the presence of cointegration between the series in the model. Further findings from the study showed evidence of a significant negative long-run impact of negative shocks to financial development on long-run economic growth, thereby confirming that declining financial development hinders economic growth in Venezuela. Furthermore, positive and negative shocks of trade openness show a positive impact on economic growth in the long run. Meanwhile, in the short-run, negative shocks to financial development negatively impacts economic growth, while one year lagged negative shocks to financial development improve the short-run economic growth. More so, results from the long-run asymmetric test reveal that only financial development has a significant asymmetric effect on economic growth. However, errors to the system are adjusted at a speed of 38%. This study, thus, recommends the improvement of the financial sector and removing barriers to trade where possible, while adopting low carbon emissions for economic growth.