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This study examines the influence of digital finance and renewable energy technology innovation (RETI) on green growth using Chinese regional data from 2007 to 2019. It applies Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) to integrate asymmetric green growth patterns in China's prefecture-level regions. Moreover, the generalized method of moment (GMM) is used to address possible endogeneity between model variables. The results of MMQR reveal that digital finance stimulates green growth at middle to higher quantiles (4th to 6th), and central and eastern regions fall within these quantiles. In contrast, western regions have an insignificant impact as prescribed by lower quantiles (1st to 3rd). Similarly, RETI failed to increase the growth across lower to middle (1st to 6th) quantiles in western and central regions. However, the extremely high quantiles indicate a significantly positive connection, demonstrating that RETI contributes to green growth primarily in eastern regions. Moreover, the outcomes stated that government intervention significantly enhances green growth throughout quantiles. The results from GMM endorse a similar outcome, indicating that the marginal contribution of digital green finance towards green growth is more substantial in the eastern sub-sample, followed by central and western regions, respectively. Likewise, green growth is more responsive to changes in RETI in eastern and western regions. These results suggest that digital finance and RETI are imperative to ensure regional green growth ; however, their marginal contribution should be improved in western and eastern regions.

The effects of corruption and income on environmental degradation is well established in the literature. However, little attention has been given to how the control of corruption affects the environmental quality at different levels of income. This study examines the interaction effect of the control of corruption and income on environmental quality in Africa over the period from 1996 to 2017. Using a Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) with fixed effects, the results revealed that both the control of corruption and income level increase CO2 emissions while their interaction term reduces CO2 emissions. This implies that the interaction effect of the control of corruption and income level mitigates carbon emissions. Particularly, the marginal effect of the control of corruption on CO2 emissions decreases as income level increases. Furthermore, renewable energy consumption has a negative and significant effect on CO2 emissions. The effect of foreign direct investment on CO2 emissions is positive and significant, which validates the pollution haven hypothesis. These results are heterogeneous across the quantile distribution of CO2 emissions. Based on these findings, our study suggests the need for the government and policymakers to stimulate income levels as a prerequisite for achieving sound and effective environmental policies in Africa.

This study aims to explore the relationship among economic growth, CO2 emissions, fossil fuels consumption, renewable energy consumption, foreign direct investments, and trade by taking into account countries with oil reserves (export groups) and countries without oil reserves (import group). The factors affecting CO2 emissions in countries with and without oil production have been investigated by using Panel VAR (PVAR) and Granger causality methods for the period of 1990-2015. In both country groups, growth positively affects CO2 emissions. While there is a negative relationship between CO2 emission and foreign direct investments in the oil importing country group, there is a positive relationship between CO2 and trade in the oil-exporting group. PVAR analysis results illustrate that the growth hypothesis is valid in both groups of countries. In addition, when both country group examined, the countries sacrifice their national income to reduce carbon emissions, which makes it difficult to reduce emissions in the world. According to the variance decomposition results, while the CO2 variable defines itself as 98% for oil importing countries, the second important variable that pollutes the air is GDP. In addition, the variables FDI, REN and FOSSIL affect air pollution by 4% over a 10-year period.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The present study examines the linkage between inflation instability and pollution emissions for the 40 Asian economies over the period of 1990–2018. However, a limited number of researches investigate the linkage between inflation instability and the environment. For empirical analysis, econometric methods namely cross-sectional test statistics for examining the dependency, cross-sectionally augmented Dickey-Fuller (CADF) and cross-sectional Im, Pesaran, and Shin (CIPS) for the panel unit root, Westerlund technique for the long-run relationship, and Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) to estimate the long-run coefficients have adopted. Additionally, the Dumitrescu and Hurlin panel causality test is applied to investigate the causal nexus among the panel data series. The empirical finding depicts that inflation instability improves environmental performance implying that higher price volatility creates uncertainty that discourages investment projects and consumption, hence improves environmental quality. However, the results indicate that financial development stimulates pollution emissions and degrades environmental condition. Based on these findings, the study opens up innovative intuitions for policymakers to support a robust role of economic stability in attaining targets relevant to pollution reduction.

This paper aims to determine the interaction of commercial energy distribution, including the installed capacity of hydroelectric energy, hydroelectric energy generation, the installed capacity of thermal energy, thermal energy generation, the installed capacity of nuclear energy, and nuclear energy generation, with economic progress in Pakistan over the 1970–2019 period. Both linear and non-linear autoregressive distributed lag models were used to ascertain the symmetric and asymmetric short- and long-run effects. The findings from the linear autoregressive distributed lag model analysis revealed evidence that increases in the installed capacity of nuclear energy, alongside higher levels of hydroelectric energy generation and thermal energy generation, have positively affected economic growth in the short run, while a greater installed capacity of nuclear energy has positively affected economic growth in the long run. The findings from the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag model analysis showed that negative shocks to installed capacities related to hydroelectric, thermal, and nuclear energy reduced economic growth, while positive shocks to hydroelectric energy generation and the installed capacity of nuclear energy boosted economic growth in the short run. Furthermore, in the long run, negative shocks to the installed capacities of hydroelectric and thermal energy reduced economic growth, negative shocks to the installed capacity of nuclear energy enhanced economic growth, and positive shocks to hydroelectric energy generation and the installed capacity of nuclear energy have stimulated economic growth in Pakistan.

According to the Economic Complexity Index, Japan was the number 1 most complex economy in the world. In addition to complexity, Japan pledges to reduce emissions by boosting cleaner energy sources. This study simulates two policies to highlight a path for Japan in achieving this ambitious energy and environmental target. The novel dynamic autoregressive distribution lag (ARDL) model and Kernel-based regularized least squares (KRLS) are adopted over panel data from 1970 to 2018. Empirical evidence from the ARDL and dynamic ARDL models shows that CO2 emissions have a significant long-term relationship with GDP per capita, renewable energy, and economic complexity index while air transport is significant in the short run. Putting it more elaborately, a unit increase in GDP per capita increase the emission by 0.84%–0.96% in the long run and 0.46%–0.48% in the short run. As regards renewable energy, a unit increase in it decrease the carbon emission by 0.07% and 0.04% in the long-run and short-run respectively. Also, an increase in the economic index diminished the emission by 0.81% in the long run. Moreover, economic complexity moderates the role of GDP in environmental degradation as it also has a significant impact on carbon emission.

The European Union (EU) is one of the strongest, but most complex unions in the world with a competitive tourism industry. The aim of this study, therefore, is to account for economic complexity index (ECI), Brexit and other crisis episodes in the growth-energy-emissions nexus. Theoretically, the traditional Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model is assessed by adopting a One-step System Generalized Method of Moment (Sys GMM) on data for 26 EU member states over the period from 1995 to 2018. For the first time, an EU-macro regional analysis is conducted with and without the UK. Empirical results reveal that an increase in tourism, real GDP per capita, and energy use across the four EU macro regions leads to increase in carbon emission. In some regions, it was observed that tourism, ECI, Brexit, and the Greece bailout have no significant impact on carbon emission. This suggests that the increase in international travel, complexity of the economy, and financial crisis do not accelerate environmental crisis in such regions. However, where such factors are statistically significant, Brexit and the Greece bailout crisis both heighten emissions. Particularly, when the UK is excluded, Brexit and the Greece bailout crisis increase and reduce emissions, respectively. The EKC hypothesis, however, holds in either scenario. Based on these empirical findings, vital policy directions are suggested for a post-Brexit EU-UK energy and environmental relations.

Rapid modernization and industrialization have significantly intensified carbon emissions and worsened environmental sustainability around the globe. Despite the significant importance of green innovation, clean energy consumption, and education in every aspect of life, the role of all these variables in determining environmental sustainability has not been explored quite extensively in case of China. Under this premise, the present study aims to investigate the role of green innovation, clean energy investment, and education on environmental sustainability in highly polluted Asian economies for the period of 1991–2019 by employing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The findings infer that increase in green innovation reduces CO2 emissions in China, India, and Japan in the long-run. However, an increase in clean energy investment and education tends to decline CO2 emissions in Russia and Japan. The findings confirm that green innovation, clean energy investment, and education improve environmental sustainability in long-run, while short-run estimates are diverse. Thus, governments of highly polluted economies should increase investment in education, clean energy, and technology to mitigate CO2 emissions.

In this study, we analyzed the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in 17 emerging countries, spanning the period of 1990–2016. The bootstrap panel causality test, allowing for dependence across countries and heterogeneity in slope parameters, developed by Konya (2006) [1] was employed. The results indicated that the neutrality hypothesis does hold for all of the markets studied except for Poland, which confirmed the growth hypothesis. As such, because of the nonexistence of causality running from renewable energy demand to economic growth, energy saving (mitigation) policies do not have any detrimental influence on the growth rates of these 16 emerging economies. For Poland; however, energy conservation policies may have detrimental effects on the country's economic performance level.

WOS: 000456761300061, This present study explores the relationship of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption with carbon emission by using panel data of 74 nations from 1990 to 2015. In doing as so, we apply the second-generation econometrics of panel data to examines the cross-section independence and control the heterogeneity between cross-sections. The CIPS unit root test, Westerlund (2007) bootstrap cointegration, Pedroni co-integration, FMOLS and heterogeneous panel causality techniques have been applied. The outcomes affirm that all variables are integrated over the long-run. The results also show that the nonrenewable energy consumption has a positive effect on environmental degradation whereas; renewable energy has a negative impact on environmental degradation and help to reduce environmental hazards. Similarly, financial development also has a negative and significant impact on environmental degradation. Furthermore, the Kuznets hypothesis are also tested and found its existence. This study provides valuable policy implications for the government and the policy makers.

This study focuses on a thermodynamic performance analysis of a subcritical cascade refrigeration system (CRS) with internal heat exchangers (IHXs) using R41/R601, R41/R602A, and R41/cyclopentane as refrigerant pairs. The effect of evaporator temperature (Tev), condenser temperature (Tcond), and temperature difference in the cascade heat exchanger (ΔTCHX) on examined performance parameters are investigated. Each performance parameter is scrutinized by an optimum low-temperature circuit (LTC) condenser temperature. The operating parameters have some implications on the overall thermodynamic performance of the system. A change of 10 °C in the Tev and Tcond affects the performance of the system by approximately +26% and −8%, respectively. Moreover, a variation of 1 °C in the ΔTCHX reduces the performance of the system by about 2%. The effect of IHXs on the system has some interesting results. The coefficient of performance (COP) and exergy efficiency values of the system using R41/cyclopentane tend to constantly decrease by nearly 4.05%. Although not as much as R41/cyclopentane, there is also a slight drop in the performance of other refrigerant pairs. The discharge temperature in LTC and high-temperature circuit (HTC) compressors exceeds 120 °C for low-temperature refrigeration requirements, which is highly undesirable. Furthermore, the top priority components for the system improvement are HTC condenser, HTC compressor, and CHX. The refrigerant pairs with the thermodynamic performance from best to worst are R41/R601, R41/cyclopentane, and R41/R602A, respectively. Finally, the COP and exergy efficiency values of the modeled system are 10.40% higher and 3.06% lower, respectively, compared with current models in the literature.

Inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this study focuses on the need for responsible and clean energy consumption, climate change mitigation, and sustainable economic growth. To this end, the study investigates the connection between biomass energy consumption, real GDP, investment in the energy sector, and CO2 emissions in the emerging (E7) countries – China, India, Brazil, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Indonesia and Turkey – for the period 2000–2018. The study uses a battery of techniques, namely Pooled Mean Group-autoregressive distributed lag, ordinary least square, dynamic ordinary least square, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (PMG-ARDL, OLS, DOLS FMOLS) and causality estimators, to measure the robustness of the conceptualized relationship among the variables of interest. Empirical results show that conventional energy from fossil fuel sources is a driver of CO2 emissions within the E7 economies. On the other hand, biomass energy consumption and investments in the energy sector decrease CO2 emissions. Furthermore, a feedback causality relationship between biomass energy consumption and CO2 emissions is observed. Similarly, a feedback causality relationship is seen between economic growth and biomass energy consumption. Our study’s empirical findings reveal that biomass energy consumption mitigated CO2 emissions in the E7 economies that were examined, suggesting the pivotal role for biomass energy consumption in creating an ecofriendly environment and environmental sustainability. This requires investment from the private sector, stakeholders, and government administrators in cleaner energy technologies initiatives like biomass.

This study aims to estimate the nexus between financial deepening and environmental quality in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) economies by using the data over 1990–2019. For analysis, we relied on panel linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL). Three different variables i.e. financial deepening index, financial institution deepening, and financial market deepening are used to represent financial deepening in BRICS countries. In the long run, our linear models confirmed the positive role of financial deepening in improving environmental quality. Conversely, the symmetric estimates of financial institution deepening and financial market deepening are positively significant implying that both these measures cause the CO2 emissions to rise, thus hurts the environmental quality in BRICS in long run. In the non-linear models, the positive shock in all the measures of financial deepening increases the CO2 emissions while the negative shock deteriorates the CO2 emissions, in all three models, in the long run. In the short-run, the variables of financial deepening provide mixed results during linear and non-linear analysis. Moreover, CO2 emissions respond asymmetrically to a positive and negative change in financial deepening in the long run only. Although financial deepening in the BRICS economies helps reduce the CO2 emissions, the BRICS are still among the top ten emitters of the world. Therefore, the role of financial deepening should be further enhanced in achieving a sustainable environment.

Due to the importance of the environmental impacts of human activities on sustainable growth, the effect of environmental performance on economic growth was investigated for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries from 2000 to 2015. Therefore, the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is investigated using a Composite Index of Environmental Performance (CIEP) and Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (Panel ARDL) approach. The CIEP model is based on the Driving Force-Pressure-State- Exposure -Effects-Action (DPSEEA) framework and is generated by 19 indicators. The results of this study showed that the driving forces and pressure have negative impacts on environmental performance, thereby reducing the number of available resources. In addition, the results revealed that actions increase life expectancy while reducing the mortality rate and environmental impact. The average CIEP revealed that among MENA countries, Iran (−0.226), Algeria (−0.168), and Yemen (−0.134) had the lowest amounts, while Emirate (0.036), Kuwait (0.036), and Qatar (0.033) had the highest values. The results of the panel data model revealed a cubic polynomial correlation and an N-shaped pattern between economic growth and CIEP. Therefore, MENA countries must pay attention to sustainable development to preserve the environment.

In the quest towards a cleaner environment via the mitigation of climate change and its impact, this study examined the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, energy efficiency and energy consumption indicators in Kenya. The study employed an autoregressive distributed lag technique, statistically inspired modification of partial least squares regression and Utest method to analyze four models with data spanning 1971 to 2013. Both the autoregressive distributed lag model and the Utest estimation confirmed an inverted u-shaped curve, thus, validating the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Kenya. The study revealed that an increase in energy consumption exacerbates carbon dioxide emissions in the long-run. The statistically inspired modification of partial least squares regression revealed that electricity from renewable energy sources plays a critical role in carbon dioxide emission reduction. An increase in GDP per capita and household consumption expenditure increases energy consumption. Energy imports had no long-run effect due to the recent oil discovery, coal, prospects of nuclear energy and the potential for more renewable energy sources in Kenya. The study highlights that using sustainable technologies like, inter alia, carbon capture and storage in the exploitation of oil and coal are essential to reducing pollution. Rural-urban migration increases the burden on electric power consumption, thus, reducing energy efficiency if conservation options are not enforced. As a policy implication, engaging the public on energy conservation and management options will help curb energy challenges like load shedding — which appears troubling in Africa.

This study examined the empirical effects of economic growth, electricity consumption, foreign direct investment (FDI), and financial development on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Kuwait using time series data for the period 1980–2013. To achieve this goal, we applied the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach and found that cointegration exists among the series. Findings indicate that economic growth, electricity consumption, and FDI stimulate CO2 emissions in both the short and long run. The VECM Granger causality analysis revealed that FDI, economic growth, and electricity consumption strongly Granger-cause CO2 emissions. Based on these findings, the study recommends that Kuwait reduce emissions by expanding its existing Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage plants; capitalizing on its vast solar and wind energy; reducing high subsidies of the residential electricity scheme; and aggressively investing in energy research to build expertise for achieving electricity generation efficiency.

China is performing a dominant role in the world’s economic growth, but it has mainly been the commencement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that has significantly increased its importance around the world. Recently, the emergence of the tourism industry has been considered as an alternative for sustainable economic and ecological development, which is ironic. Although China is promoting tourism in various regions under “The New Normal” phase, it needs to proactively address the challenges of dismantling, for the environment. The fundamental objective of the current study is to determine the long-term affiliation between tourism development, economic progress, transportation, energy consumption, value added hotel catering services, and environmental degradation (CO2) for a panel of thirty (30) provinces of China over the period of 1995–2017. Primarily, we applied the CD test for investigating cross dependence, subsequently, conventional and CD based panel unit root tests (CIPS) were carried out to deal with the puzzle of the stationarity of the panel series. The results of the dynamics panel, DOLS, FMOLS, and PMG, indicated that transportation, energy consumption, and value added hotel and catering services have a strong positive association with carbon emission, but tourism development has mixed links with ecological degradation. Additionally, the causative based test revealed the bidirectional association of tourism development, transportation, economic progress, and energy consumption with environmental quality. The retrieved estimates conferred a few guidelines, concerning the presence of BRI projects, for the Chinese administration at the provincial and national level: initiating the renewable based energy projects and possibly wishing to decrease the use of fossil fuel based energy in the industry, transportation, and hotels and catering sectors. Furthermore, the prevalence of green investment in provinces may motivate economic progress and tourism development, without worsening the atmosphere.

The aim of this research is to examine the link between CO 2 emissions, hydroelectricity consumption, urbanisation and real GDP in China and India during the period of 1965–2013. The long-run cointegration is investigated by the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach, which is augmented with structural breaks. We employ the ARDL cointegration test to establish long run relationship in the variables. Furthermore, we use the ARDL to show that real GDP and urbanisation have long-run positive impact on emission, while hydroelectricity consumption exerts long-run negative impact on emission in both countries. The results support the existence of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in China and India. Besides, the paper assesses the causal link between the variables by using Granger causality procedures and the results show that there is long-run bidirectional relationship between the variables in both countries.

Technological innovation has played an important role in the socio-economic development of societies but, this development has come with some potential hazards to the environment. To do so, we use annual time series data over the period 1990–2018 to measure the symmetric and asymmetric effects of technology innovation on carbon emissions for Pakistan. In estimates of linear ARDL model, we found patent (trademark) has negative (positive) short-run symmetric effects on carbon emissions that have been changed into the long-run symmetric insignificant effects in Pakistan. However, when we employed a nonlinear ARDL model, we found the positive and negative shock of the patent has insignificant short-run asymmetric effects while the positive shock of the trademark has an insignificant and negative shock of the trademark has negative significant effects on carbon emissions in the short run. Our findings have been changed into the long-run asymmetric effects in Pakistan. Overall, the results show that asymmetric effects exist between technology innovation and carbon emissions in the long run. Therefore, this empirical research is applicable to policymakers in Pakistan as well as developing economies.

This study attempt to fill the research gap by figuring out the dynamic effects of foreign capital inflows effect on renewable energy and non-renewable consumption by using the time series non-linear ARDL approach for BRICS from 1991 to 2019. Non-linear ARDL estimates show that positive change in foreign capital inflows has a positive effect on renewable consumption in Brazil, India, and South Africa in long run. Also, the negative change in foreign capital inflows exhibits negatively liked with renewable energy consumption in BRICS economies, except Russia in long run. We find that positive shock in foreign capital inflows tends to increase non-renewable energy consumption in BRICS except India in the long run. Finding suggests that negative change in foreign capital inflows has negative impacts on non-renewable energy consumption in India and Brazil, while the positive effect in only China in the long run.

Germany is the largest economy in Europe and the leading renewable energy user comparable to none in the entire of the European continents. It is in reference to these developments that this study investigates whether the impacts of renewable energy have consolidated the economic growth prospects of the country. To ensure this, quarterly time series data from 1971Q1 to 2013QIV was used. The study employed the Clemente-Montanes-Reyes detrended structural break test, the Bayer-Hanck combined cointegration test and the ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration. In addition, the causality analysis was observed using VECM Granger causality framework. The results confirmed the existence of cointegration among the variables. The results show that renewable energy consumption in Germany consolidates the country's economic growth prospects to the extend that a 1% increase in renewable energy consumption boosts German economic growth by 0.2194%. In addition to that, a 1% increase in capital lead to the rise in economic growth by 1.1320%. While a 0.5125% increase in economic growth is due to 1% increase in labor productivity. The causality analysis on the other hand, revealed the existence of feedback effect between renewable energy consumption and economic growth. While the relationship between renewable energy consumption and capital is found to be bidirectional and same inference was found to exist between capital and economic growth. The study proposes solid mechanisms that will help in averting renewable energy market failure locally and internationally among others.

WOS: 000401201900048, This paper attempts to shed some light on the energy consumption and associated emissions linking recent trade integration for eight economies in the ASEAN region: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Considering the heterogeneity across the panel of countries, a long-run relationship is established between output, energy, trade, and emissions over a period of three decades. The role of transportation is considered in this respect. The overall findings indicate that the environmental consequences of economic growth are alarming for most of the countries in the panel, and non-renewable energy consumption is the key contributing factor towards environmental deterioration in the ASEAN region. Of the eight, it is further established that five economies from the region (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam) predominantly engage in emission-intensive trade and an increase in future energy demand and environmental degradation is projected for these countries. We suggest that the implementation of economic and trade policies in future should align with the energy sector. In this respect, renewable energy sources will play a greater role in sustainable growth and development across the countries.

This study empirically investigates the relationship between CO 2 emission and four of its potentially contributing factors (i.e., energy consumption, income, trade openness and population) using time series data from 1971 to 2013 on five selected economies of South Asia. After confirming that all the series are stationary using unit root test process, the study incorporates three different and advance panel cointegration tests i.e. Pedroni- Kao- and Johansen-Fisher-panel cointegration. All the panel cointegration tests confirm that all the variables cointegrated. The long-run association between the variables is checked using FMOLS-grouped and individual cross-section country in the panel. The FMOLS grouped results show that energy consumption, trade openness and population increases environmental degradation in the panel countries with exception of income which has negative impact and sounds the existence of Environmental Kuznet curve between income and emission. The innovative accounting approach using variance decomposition test and impulse response function is applied to examine the causality amongst the underlined vectors. The results show that there is bidirectional causality between energy consumption and trade openness and uni-directional causality running from energy consumption, trade openness and population to CO 2 emission. The results enumerate that the energy consumption and population density will increase in long-run and foresee further environmental degradation in the region.

A few studies are found on the relationship between financial instability, energy consumption and environmental quality in energy economics literature. The current study is an endeavor to fill this gap by investigating the relationship between financial stability, economic growth, energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in South Asian countries over the period 1980–2012 using a multivariate framework. Bounds test for cointegration and Granger causality approach are employed for the empirical analysis. Estimated results suggest that all variables are non-stationary and cointegrated. The results show that financial stability improves environmental quality; while the increase in economic growth, energy consumption and population density are detrimental for environment quality in the long-run. The results also support the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis which assumes an inverted U-shaped path between income and environmental quality. Moreover, the study found the evidence of unidirectional causality running from financial stability to CO 2 emissions in two countries i.e. Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The findings of this study open up new insight for policy makers to design a comprehensive financial, economic and energy supply policies to minimize the detrimental impact of environmental pollution.

Applying a new panel stationary test procedure to data from 32 OECD countries from 1971 to 2013, this study examines the time series properties of per capita energy consumption. The results indicate that energy consumption per capita follows a mean reverting process for 16 OECD countries whereas, for the remaining 16 OECD countries, a mean reverting process is not the case. Besides, energy consumption per capita exhibits some sharp and smooth structural shifts (breaks) in its mean and/or trend levels, and the endogenously identified break dates correspond to specific macroeconomic events such as oil crises, Gulf War, Asian and Global financial crises. These results also have important policy implications. For the 16 OECD countries that have stationary energy consumption per capita series, government policies intended to stabilize energy demand will have no long-lasting effects, and therefore, governments should not adopt unnecessary policy targets for energy demand level. However, for the remaining 16 OECD countries, such policies will have long-lasting effects.

WOS: 000455504600004, This study investigates the dynamic relationships between technological innovation, consumption of energy, energy price, and economic growth in Denmark during the period from 1970 until 2012, using multivariate setting to examine time-series data. The analysis employs the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to co-integration to examine both the short and long run dynamics among the variables. Furthermore, the study uses the Granger procedure within the VAR framework to identify causality among the variables. The model used in this study is found to be sound, a diagnosis of the reliability of the model reached by testing normality, functional form, serial correlation, and heteroscedasticity, with stability of the model tested using a cumulative sum and cumulative sum square test, based on recursive regression residuals. The ARDL approach to co-integration reveals that real GDP growth positively influences energy consumption as well as significantly in both the short run and long run, while energy prices and technological innovation influence energy consumption negatively and significantly. The results ascertain that energy consumption and economic growth are independent of each other, and thus they support a neutral hypothesis for Denmark. Besides, both the technological innovation and energy prices are found to be Granger cause energy consumption. Therefore, the study suggests that Denmark should adopt conservative energy policy using technological innovation and energy prices as instruments to achieve energy security and protect the environment from pollution.

WOS: 000469518700113, The aim of this paper is to reinvestigate the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on welfare or poverty reduction in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) economies. We used FDI net inflows per capita and the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index (HDI) as the principal variables ranging from 1990 to 2014. Our analyses confirm the positive and strongly significant relationship between FDI net inflows and poverty reduction in Asia. However, it indicates significant differences between South Asia and Southeast Asia. Generally, we find that FDI has a greater impact on welfare in SAARC countries than in ASEAN countries. Our results hold true for both HDI and real gross domestic product (GDP), and are shown to be robust using both panel and pool model specifications., Gansu philosophy and social science planning office [406000/057000019], The study was supported by Gansu philosophy and social science planning office (No.406000/057000019).

This paper estimates the short- and long-run effects of Internet usage and economic growth on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions using OECD panel data for the period 1991–2012. The Pedroni panel cointegration test confirms that the variables are cointegrated. Although Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimates indicate a positive significant long-run relationship between Internet usage and CO2 emissions, the coefficient is very small and no causality exists between them, which both imply that the rapid growth in Internet usage is still not an environmental threat for the region. The study further indicates that economic growth has no significant short-run and long-run effects on CO2 emissions. Internet use stimulates both financial development and trade openness. The findings offer support in favor of the argument that OECD countries can promote their Internet usage without being significantly concerned about its environmental consequences. But the future emissions effect of Internet usage cannot be ruled out, as is evident from the variance decomposition analysis. Therefore, this study recommends that in addition to boosting the existing measures for combating CO2 emissions, OECD countries need to use ICT equipment not to simply reduce its own carbon footprint but also to exploit ICT-enabled emissions abatement potential to reduce emissions in other sectors, such as the power, energy, agricultural, transport and service sectors.

This study investigates the influence of biofuel energy consumption on Brazil's economic growth during the period 1980–2012 by employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach and the vector error correction model (VECM) Granger causality. The results revealed two structural breaks during the early 1980s due to the Latin American debt crisis as well as the early 2000s due to the worries related to the increasing global spreads. Moreover, it was found that economic growth, biofuel energy consumption, capital, urbanization, and globalization are co-integrated. Additionally, it was found that biofuel energy consumption, capital, urbanization, and globalization increase Brazil's economic growth in the short run and in the long run. However, the two structural breaks have a significant negative influence on economic growth. The vector error correction model Granger causality revealed a feedback causal relationship between all the variables (with the exception of capital). However, a unidirectional causality was concluded from capital to economic growth, biofuel energy consumption, urbanization, and globalization. From the results of this study, a number of policy implications were provided. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between natural gas consumption and economic growth in 12 OPEC member countries for the period of 1980–2012. The paper adopts the panel Granger causality test of Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) [21] to assess the causal relationship between natural gas consumption and economic growth. The findings show the evidence of feedback relation between natural gas consumption and economic growth in OPEC members as a panel. However, diverse results are obtained when the member countries are individually examined. The results provide evidence for growth hypothesis in Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, but conservation hypothesis in Algeria, Iran, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Further evidence suggests the existence of neutrality hypothesis in Angola and Qatar; and feedback hypothesis in Ecuador.

The aim of this research is to examine the effect of energy prices on pollution and investigate the existence of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in 27 advanced economies. The panel non-stationary techniques were used to examine the selected economies taking the period of 1990–2012. The panel Kao and Fisher cointegration results showed that CO2 emission (CO2), gross domestic product (GDP), renewable energy consumption (RE), non-renewable energy consumption (NR), trade openness (TD), urbanization (UR), and energy prices (PC) are cointegrated. Moreover, the panel fully modified ordinary least square and the vector error correction Granger causality results revealed that GDP, NR, and UR increase CO2 emission while RE, TD, and PC reduce it. Furthermore, the inverted U-shaped relationship between GDP and CO2 emission was confirmed which signifies the presence of the EKC hypothesis. From the obtained results, multiple policy implications were provided for the investigated countries to help them control and reduce air pollution without harming their economic growth and development.

This study attempts to analyse the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in Vietnam using the neoclassical Solow growth framework for the 1971–2011 period. The concept and methods of cointegration and Granger causality are used to establish the relationship between the variables of interest. Our results confirm the existence of cointegration among the variables. In particular, energy consumption, FDI and capital stock were found positively influence economic growth in Vietnam. The Granger causality test revealed unidirectional causality running from energy consumption to economic growth. Hence, Vietnam is an energy-dependent economy and any energy or environment policy drawn up in an attempt to conserve energy will jeopardise the process of economic development in Vietnam. For this reason, the renewable energy policy should be given attention to provide sufficient supplies of energy to speed up economic expansion. Investment in R&D may be required to incentivise private/public institutions to engage in this innovation, while the awareness for energy-saving policy among public could be integrated to meet social economic development.

This study examines the long-run and short-run effects of financial development, economic growth, export, imports and capital on the Japanese energy predicaments as a result of the foregoing energy crisis in the country. To ensure a robust outcome, the study applied the extended Cobb–Douglas production function and used time series data from 1970 to 2012. Following to this, structural break unit root test, ARDL bounds test approach to cointegration and the Johansen cointegration test were applied. In addition, the VECM Granger causality framework was used in determining the causal relationship between the variables. The findings of the study establish that, in the long-run a 1% rise in financial development, economic growth, exports and imports in Japan will exert a significant pressure on the Japanese electricity consumption by 0.2429%; 0.5040%; 0.0921% and 0.2193% respectively. However, capital was found to decline energy consumption in all material respect. In the short-run, the study discovered how a 1% rise in the dynamics of financial development, economic growth, exports and imports to add to the Japanese electricity predicaments by 0.2210%; 0.5840%; 0.0521% and 0.2031% respectively. The existence of the feedback relationship between most of the variables was discovered, while, economic growth, exports, imports, and trade openness were found to Granger-cause electricity consumption. The study advocates the adoption of massive but competitive renewable energy system in Japan. How it should be done and why it should be done are carefully set by this study.

WOS: 000372318600014, This study examines the interrelationship between biofuel consumption and production and several national-scale indicators of socioeconomic and environmental sustainability by using the functional form of the Solow growth model. Panel data ranging from 2000 to 2013 has been used for 12 distinct countries by employing the Panel Generalized Method of Moments (PGMM) technique. The results show that growth factors have a positive impact on biofuel consumption while environmental indicators increase along with the increasing use of biofuels. Potential habitant areas (represented by the forest indicators) are influenced by biofuel consumption. More specifically, as biofuels decrease the arable land in hectares, it also decreases the rate of forest depletion. The results show that GDP per unit of energy used and the amount of forest area are significantly correlated with higher biofuel production while the labor force participation rate significantly decreases biofuel production in the region. There is a significant and negative relationship between net forest depletion and biofuel production. The cause and effect relationship between the variables is estimated through the panel causality Wald exogeniety test. The results indicate a unidirectional causality running from GDP per capita to biofuel consumption and from biofuel consumption to fossil fuel energy consumption. While there is bidirectional causality between GDP per capita and biofuel production in the region, the results emphasize the role of biofuel consumption and production in devising strong policy options for escalating economic growth, a carbon-free economy, and the preservation of biodiversity in a region.

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between hydroelectricity consumption and economic growth in seven Latin America countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The analysis is conducted within a neoclassical model involving capital and labour force, for the period of 1970–2012. We utilize a recently developed cointegration test to investigate the long run relationship in the variables. Having established that the variables are cointegrated, the results indicate long run bidirectional causality between hydroelectricity consumption and economic growth in Argentina and Venezuela. There is evidence for long run unidirectional causality from hydroelectricity consumption to economic growth in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The long run coefficients from the regression analyses suggest that hydroelectricity consumption positively affect the economies of these Latin American countries. However, limited evidence of causality between the two variables is found in the short run. The ensuing policy implications of the findings are discussed.