Development, effective governance and environmental sustainability risk: emerging markets perspective.

Abstract

The study examines the extent to which development and other key factors influence environmental sustainability risk among developing economies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Empirical analyses were carried out using panel corrected standard error (PCSE), an estimation technique by Beck and Katz, Am Polit Sci Rev, 634-647, (1995). The results suggest that development, defined by a more holistic index, has significant positive impact on CO2 emissions, but negative impact on ecological footprint among economies in the sub-region. The results further show that effective governance, corruption control and regulatory quality tend to minimize adverse impact of development on CO2 emissions, all other things being equal. Additionally, the study finds that political instability exacerbates the adverse effect of development on CO2 emissions.