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The aim of this study is to investigate the existence of pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) and test the casual relationship between inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and environmental pollutions, as well as other potential influencing factors of environmental performance. To this end, a panel vector error correction model (VECM) and panel co-integration test is conducted for two country groups - the BRICS (i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and the MINT (i.e., Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey) - during 1982–2014. Empirical results illustrate a bidirectional and positive causality between FDI inflows and GDP per capita for both groups, implying a virtuous circle of FDI-growth nexus. More importantly, both the BRICS and MINT countries illustrate bidirectional and negative causality between FDI inflows and environmental pressures (i.e., per capita energy consumption for BRICS and per capita carbon emissions for MINT). Such findings indicate the pollution haven hypothesis does not stand in this case. In addition, it is also found that the opening degree of trade can be promoted by FDI inflows, which has rarely been deeply analyzed in prior studies. Concluding remarks and policy suggestions are proposed in the last section. Image 1 • Vector error correction model are employed in this study. • A comparative analysis of BRICS and MINT countries. • Results refute the pollution haven hypothesis. • A virtuous circle exist between FDI and economic growth. • Trade openness can be promoted by FDI inflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dematerialization at the national level occurs almost exclusively during periods of economic recession or low growth. While recession is not a sustainable strategy to curb environmental impact, such periods may offer important insights on the possibilities of reducing material use. Economic recession research has focused on the interactions between macroeconomic and financial variables with little systematic research dedicated to uncovering how resource use develops during periods of recession. Using a dynamic panel model, we investigate whether and to what extent material use in a sample of 150 economies between 1970 and 2010 was affected by recession and low growth. Recession occurred most frequently and in more than two thirds of all countries during the 1980s and the 1990s. In the 2000s, more than half of the recessions occurred during the financial crisis of 2008. Periods of recession were significantly and negatively correlated with material use - they tended to coincide with dematerialization. Material use decreased in recession years, but the significant correlations with growth in material use became weaker as growth rates increased. Construction minerals and metals, used to build stocks of manufactured capital, reacted more strongly to economic fluctuations than the throughput-dominated flows of biomass and fossil fuels. We conclude that the systematic link between recession and dematerialization can become policy-relevant if the mechanisms causing reductions in material use during these periods are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional wisdom has it that less working time is good for mitigating environmental pressure. Only a few studies have documented contradictory evidence. In this paper, we use panel threshold model, which is arguably the first of its kind in environmental analysis, to further document nonlinear relationships between working time and environmental pressure in EU-15 countries between 1970 and 2010. We find that the sign of this relationship shifts from positive to negative, as the working hours per worker decreases; France, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands experienced more environmental pressure with shorter working week. To the backdrop of reduced working time during our research period, our paper sheds new light on the traditional view of “the less, the better,” as curtailing working time beyond certain thresholds may inadvertently incur exacerbation of environmental pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have considered the effect of financial development on carbon emissions; however, few studies have explored the role of green finance in carbon mitigation. To bridge this gap, the current study constructs a green finance development index based on four indicators: green credit, green securities, green insurance, and green investment. A vector error correction model is used to analyze relationships between the development level of green finance, non-fossil energy consumption, and carbon intensity using data from 2000 to 2018. We find that China's green finance industry developed rapidly, and improvements in the green finance development index, as well as the increasing use of non-fossil energy, contributed to a reduction in carbon intensity. Simultaneously, an increase in carbon intensity inhibited the expansion of non-fossil energy use, impeded the investment flow to green projects, and ultimately led to a deterioration of green finance development. In addition, non-fossil energy consumption in China was primarily influenced by green finance and carbon intensity, with clear policy-driven effects. However, the impacts of green finance policies continually fell short and lacked continuity. This study proposes ways in which to improve the effect of green finance policy implementation, expand the consumption of non-fossil energy, and develop a carbon trading market. • The green finance–new energy use–carbon intensity nexus is explored for China. • A vector error correction model is employed. • A green finance development index is constructed based on four green indicators. • Green finance and new energy use are found to reduce carbon intensity. • Carbon intensity increases are found to inhibit green finance and new energy use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantitative measure of performance that integrates national-level carbon emission profiles with key parameters of social and economic wellbeing can provide an effective management tool for policy interventions. This paper constructs non-parametric evaluation and decomposition models using hybrid measure and meta-frontier techniques. The proposed models are employed to estimate the wellbeing performance of carbon emissions (WPCE) and identify the sources of WPCE inefficiency. Empirical analyses based on the Group 20 (G20) countries for the 2000–2015 period shows the worst performance is in the BRICS country group (i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) – known for rapid growth – whereas the developed and the developing economies of the G20 group show positive trajectories of performance. As for China, its performance measure of WPCE was the lowest among the G20 indicating significant potential for further improvement. The analysis also highlights the role of managerial failure as the primary driver of inefficiency, more important than technological inefficiency in explaining efficiency loss within the G20 countries. This critical finding – the relevance and importance of managerial capability – suggests the need for a high level of attention to governance and managerial capacity to ensure continued improvements in performance on carbon emissions and human wellbeing. A lesson to be drawn from this study is that China's policies to promote a low carbon economy can benefit from increased priority given to low-carbon technological innovation for the energy system transition and enhancement of environmental governance and managerial capacity to achieve a long-term sustainability. • Welfare performance of carbon emissions (WPCE) are evaluated for G20 countries. • A hybrid non-parametric evaluation and meta-frontier techniques are employed. • Developing countries performed the best followed by developed and BRICS countries. • Gaps of WPCE are non-negligible and sources of performance loss are divergent. • Policy implications for China drawing on the cross-country comparisons are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The research on economic recession has been more focused on the interactions between macroeconomic and financial variables. However, whether material use has been affected during the recession period has remained under-explored. In order to fill up this gap, this study investigates the relationship between material use and economic recession, as well as other socio-economic drivers, by using the material flow analysis and the system generalized method of moments for 157 economies worldwide during 1980–2011. Results show that economic recession poses significant and negative impact on domestic material consumption at 1% level, illustrating its role as a determinant factor on material mitigation. By dividing the research sample into extractive and non-extractive economies, as well as high-, mid- and low-income groups, we again confirmed the significant negative correlations as expected. No significant sign is found between recession and physical trade balance. Besides, other drivers such as population, Gross Domestic Production (GDP) per capita and technological variables also exert marked effects at different situations. This research work provides an empirical study on how recession and other factors affect material use at various scenarios, which have essential implications for understanding material flow dynamics in different economic cycles. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Recession is the determinant factor in reducing material use. • Recession-material nexus varies along with countries of different income levels and trade patterns. • Recession has no explanatory power to physical trade balance. • Income significantly promote material consumption. • Expansion of service sector helps to reduce material consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]