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This study examines the important manifestations of economic globalization, such as increased international trade, inward foreign direct investment (FDI), and air passenger transport (PAX) on economic growth and environmental quality in Southeast Asian countries. The results of data analysis for the period 1990–2019 using the panel autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) have confirmed the long run impact of these factors on economic growth and environmental quality (the reduction of CO2 emissions into the environment per unit of production) in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, international trade and PAX positively affect economic growth in both groups of lower-middle-income countries and upper-middle and high-income countries. Inward FDI, however, only has a positive effect on economic growth for the group of lower-middle-income in the short run. In the long run, it has a negative impact. On the other hand, when the manifestations of economic globalization increase, they lead to an increase in CO2 emissions, but there is a decrease in this ratio per unit of production in the long run and in most countries in the short run. These findings are the basis for making economic growth and environmental quality improvements in different regions and countries of Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world needs to move quickly towards sustainability that should characterize all production and consumption patterns. The global economic growth which was built on natural resources and biodiversity over centuries has resulted in two main issues: environmental degradation and climate change. This created a big challenge in the recent decades related to balancing economic growth with environmental quality preservation, which has been a hot topic capturing the interest of researchers from different disciplines. One of the possible ways to reduce environmental degradation while enhancing economic growth is investing in human capital. This study investigates the determinants of ecological footprint as a proxy for environmental quality in Algeria from 1980 to 2017 using several economic indicators. Another objective of the present study is to assess how education and life expectancy as social indicators can influence the environmental quality. The autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) approach is used to estimate the constructed environmental degradation models. As expected, the obtained findings show that import is a significant factor that reduces ecological footprint in the long- and the short-run contrary to economic growth, energy use, export and natural resources rent. Moreover, the findings show that education and life expectancy increase environmental degradation in the short-run. However, while life expectancy keeps increasing environmental degradation in the long-run, education reduces it. In light of these findings, the current study provides several recommendations for better management of the country's natural and human resources, which could help policymakers in directing the country towards sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]