Investigating the factors affecting the ecological well-being performance in Iran from 1994 to 2014

Abstract

In this study, the factors affecting the index of ecological well-being performance (IEWP) in Iran were investigated from 1994 to 2014. For this purpose, the long- and short-run relationships between IEWP and per capita GDP as the indicator of economic growth, energy consumption per capita, and the population were analyzed. In addition, the well-known Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology framework was used. The empirical model was evaluated by applying the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach. The ARDL bounds test was employed to investigate the long-run relationships. The results indicated the existence of a long-run relationship and cointegration. The empirical results also revealed that the relationship between economic growth and IEWP is positive and statistically significant. This indicated that Iran is located in the first stage of development. According to the empirical results, energy consumption has reduced IEWP. Therefore, the energy consumption in Iran is ecologically inefficient in improving human well-being in the short and long run. Moreover, the impact of the population is negative on IEWP and statistically significant in the short and long run. As a result, the population growth in Iran contributes to more environmental degradation and pollution. Hence, energy consumption and population development policies must align with the reduction in environmental pollution.