CO2 emissions, export and foreign direct investment: Empirical evidence from Middle East and North Africa Region

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the relationship among CO2 emissions, exports of goods and services, and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in countries in the MENA region over the period 2002–2014. To that end, spatial panel simultaneous equations model based on the adjacency-based and distance-based weight matrices was used. The findings indicated that the results of spatial panel simultaneous equations with distance-based weight matrix were more fitting than those with adjacency-based weight matrix. The empirical findings approved a two-way linkage between CO2 emissions and exports and a one-way linkage between CO2 emissions and FDI inflows and also, between FDI inflows and exports. Furthermore, the existence of the spatial correlations among the CO2 emissions, exports and FDI inflows across countries was confirmed. It was further indicated that fossil fuel energy consumption was the main determinant of CO2 emissions, and accession to the WTO played a major role in enhancing exports and FDI inflows. The present study can provide new insights for policymakers and planners to not only consider the economic benefits of exporting goods and services and FDI inflows, but also attend their environmental impacts on local and neighboring countries.