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This empirical work analyzes the impact of tourism arrivals, tourist receipts, tourist expenditure, active population, and population density on environmental quality. Unlike previous studies, this study employed a consumption-based indicator of environmental quality, which is the material footprint. Given the significance of major tourist destination countries, a sample of the top ten tourist destinations has been selected for the analysis over the period 1995–2018. The study applies econometric tools that consider the issues of cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity. The findings of cointegration show a significant long-run relationship between the variables. Similarly, pooled mean group results indicate a positive impact of tourist arrivals, tourist expenditure, and active population on the material footprint, while a negative impact is observed in the case of tourist receipts and population density. The robustness of long-run results has been examined with the help of Panel corrected standard errors. Moreover, the Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality test shows unidirectional causality from tourist arrivals and tourist receipt to the material footprint and unidirectional causality from the material footprint to tourist expenditure in the long run. According to our results, some policy implications have also been highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the long-run and short-run relationship between trade openness and inflation for ECOWAS countries for the period 1970–2020. Using alternative openness measures and estimation methods, it was found that there is a significant positive long-run relationship between trade openness and inflation for ECOWAS countries. The implication of this result is that, if ECOWAS countries continue to import consumption products outside the region rather than capital goods that can increase domestic production, it will be very difficult for member countries to meet the convergence criteria, specifically low inflation required for the proposed monetary unification. In the short run, the results show that there is a negative relationship between trade openness and inflation for ECOWAS countries. This result is specific to a determined period and as the economy gets more open, it becomes more exposed to a higher rate of inflation. Therefore, to meet low inflation criteria, member countries should take it as a matter of urgency to fully implement the ECOWAS trade liberalization scheme to improve intra-regional trade. This would reduce excessive dependence on external imports which makes ECOWAS countries vulnerable to international price volatility, currency depreciation and a high rate of inflation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of the China‐African economic relationship has received much attention among the scholars. Africa and China have experienced cooperation in the areas of foreign direct investment, cross‐border trade, and foreign aids. While this economic relationship has been viewed to contribute to the development of African nations, some scholars are of the opinion that it is a new practice in imperialism. Surprisingly, none of these scholars has examined the environmental effect of Chinese foreign direct investment (CFDI) in African regions. On this note, this study investigates how Chinese foreign direct investment (CFDI) has altered environmental conditions in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). The study uses the pooled mean group panel estimation procedure to control for short‐run heterogeneity and long‐run homogeneity in the absence of cross‐sectional dependence for the period 2003–2020, focusing on 22 countries in the region that have seen a substantial increase in foreign investment from China. CFDI is shown to decrease CO2 emissions in the long term, lending credence to the pollution halo hypothesis. Furthermore, short‐term averages show that CFDI increases CO2 emissions, lending credence to the pollution haven hypothesis. However, the short‐term results showed substantial variation on how CFDI affects CO2 emissions. The research shows that short‐term CFDI is associated with reduction in CO2 emissions in Burundi and Rwanda but increases them in the Congo Republic, Gabon, and South Africa. Some policy suggestions based on the results are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In Iran, due to the seasonality of production, the time gap between payments and receipts, which has led to the poor financial capacity of most farmers and the low presence of private investors in the agricultural sector, all have led to major financing need in the agricultural sector, often relying on facilities received from Banks should be done, especially through agricultural banks. In this study, the effect of public despite and agricultural bank credits on the value added of the agricultural sector in the western provinces of the Iran (Hamedan, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Lorestan and Ilam) during the period 2001 to 2019 has been studied. Materials and Methods: In order to investigate the effect of Agricultural Bank credits on agricultural value added and to investigate the existence of integration and long-term relationship, the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (Panel ARDL) model was used. Findings: The results of the study showed that the real amount of agricultural bank credits has a positive and significant effect on the value added of the agricultural sector. The results of estimating the co-integration relationship show that there is a positive and significant relationship between the real values of value added of the agricultural sector and the credits granted to the sector in the long run. Also, the variables of public deposits in the Agricultural Bank and labor force had a positive and significant effect on value added, but the long-run relationship between rainfall variables and crop area with agricultural value added was not confirmed. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, and the positive impact of bank deposits and agricultural credits on the agricultural value added, it is suggested that micro-capitals be equipped by encouraging the deposit of surplus revenues of the agricultural sector and rural community in banks and granting incentive points, facilitate the process of granting credit to farmers (bureaucratic processes, guarantees, etc.) and forgive farmers for late payment penalties. Also, purposeful facilities should be granted in order to use the technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the relationship between human capital metrics and economic growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from 2000 to 2022. This research utilized a pooled mean group-autoregressive distributed lag approach to empirically assess the influence of selected macroeconomic factors— specifically human capital, gross capital formation, government expenditure on health and education, and foreign direct investment (FDI)—on gross domestic product. The results indicated that, in the short term, all human capital indicators positively impacted economic growth, except for FDI. Conversely, in the long term, all variables' impact was positive and significant. School enrollment, governmental spending on education and health, FDI, employment, and capital formation positively influenced long-term economic growth. Governments must develop workforce skills in education, health, and productive sectors to enhance economic growth in GCC countries. Implementing robust structural reforms is essential, focusing on manufacturing sector development, economic diversification, reducing oil dependency, and boosting productivity and innovation in research and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractUnderstanding the relationship between health capital and economic performance is crucial for policymakers in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. This study explores this relationship in 14 SADC countries over a 14-year period (2005-2019), with GDP per capita as a measure of economic performance and health capital’s impact analysed alongside labour force participation rate, institutional quality, and trade openness. To address potential outliers, the data was transformed using logarithms, and two panel unit root tests, Levin, Lien, and Chu (LLC), and Im, Pesaran, and Shin (IPS), were employed to test for stationarity of the series. The findings indicate a combination of integrated orders, including I(0) and I (1), but not I (2). Panel cointegration tests by Pedroni and Kao reveal cointegration, suggesting a long-run relationship between the variables. The study utilized the panel auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model with Pooled Mean Group analysis as the best estimator to investigate both long run and short run relationships. For robustness, the study employed the fully modified least squares (FMOLS) method and the fixed effects (FE) model. The empirical findings establish a significant and negative relationship between health capital and economic performance in the selected SADC countries. Based on these results, the study recommends that governments in the SADC region prioritize addressing issues related to leakages in the health sector to improve economic performance.

This study examines the interaction of trade, inequality, and unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 1997 to 2021. Results from the mean group and pooled mean group estimation revealed that international trade explains a 6% rise in inequality and a 43% rise in unemployment. Our findings provide evidence that international trade, as currently structured, is not beneficial to SSA countries, despite the adoption of trade liberalization policies and regional trade agreements (RTAs). We argue that SSA countries could still derive gains from trade if they undertake massive structural reforms that address labor market frictions and skills gaps in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of illicit financial flows (IFFs) on macroeconomic performance has been subjected to debates in the academic and policy arena, albeit with little evidence on its investment effect. This study contributes to the IFF‐investment literature by focusing on the four economic regions in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), where IFFs have been growing consistently. The Pooled Mean Group (PMG) and panel dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) estimators were utilized to analyse data for the period, 2008–2020. The result signalled inter‐connection among Sub‐Saharan African countries and affirmed the existence of a long‐run relationship among the variables considered. The empirical findings showed that IFFs crowd‐out domestic investment among the four SSA economic regions in the short and long time dimensions. This study, therefore, advocates for synergy among the stakeholders in each economic region to devise deliberate strategies to fight against the menace of IFFs toward successfully achieving Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the role of infrastructure in the nexus between financial development and economic growth in 20 SSA countries. Our study is among the few to have observed an asymmetric connection between financial development and growth, while also measuring the interactive role of infrastructure on growth in SSA, which is considered the most vulnerable region in the world. While employing the pooled mean group (PMG) estimation technique on the data (spanning 1985 - 2018) obtained through secondary sources, our empirical findings suggest a non-linear linkage between financial development and economic growth, such that the positive impact outweighs the negative one in both the shortrun and the long-run. The non-linear estimate, however, provides that financial development has a mixed impact on economic growth as it indicates a positive effect to a certain level after which it hurts growth. Moreover, a negative long-run coefficient is observed on infrastructure, wherein it reduces the growth rate of the SSA economy by an average of 0.27%. On the final note, the interaction effect of infrastructure and financial development reveal a positive linkage with economic growth, wherein infrastructure enhances the longrun positive effect of financial development on the growth of the SSA countries by 0.23%. These results have important policy implications on the economies of the West African countries considered, as the study reveals inefficiency of infrastructure investment in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate the impact of political instability and the population of immigrants in Australia on the flow of international tourist arrivals. We hypothesize that political instability has a short-term negative effect while the population of immigrants in Australia may have a positive or negative effect depending on time span. Moreover, we postulate that the population of immigrants resorbs in the short run partially or totally the adverse effect of political instability. Our empirical strategy takes into consideration potential heterogeneity among cross-sections and differentiates between short-term and long-term effects. For this purpose, we use the Pooled Mean Group estimator in a panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag model. Findings from the pooled estimations suggest that, in the short run, the population of immigrants in Australia reduces the negative effect of political instability on international tourism flows. However, its effect is negative in the long run. We also find evidence for heterogeneity across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The educational system in some less developed and developing countries, including Iran, are expensive, inefficient, and weak, which in turn weakens the accomplishment of their educational system. In this view, this study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between the costs of secondary education and school attendance in the provinces of Iran for the period 2006-2019. Long-term estimations using the panel pooled group mean test (Panel PMG) show that public expenditure on secondary education, household income, urbanization, public expenditure on health, and student-teacher ratio are statistically significant in explaining changes in school attendance. The coefficient of the main variable of the research, i.e. public education expenses, has a positive, significant, and trivial sign, which will reduce the quality of educational services provided in schools and, as a result, decrease the educational results. This result is not unexpected in Iran; because it is expected that more and higher public resources are needed to improve education measures. In general, the results showed that the state of the Ministry of Education's share of the government's general budget and GDP is not satisfactory, and with this state, it will not be possible to achieve educational justice. In order to fill the gap in providing quality education in Iran, there is a need for extensive interventions. Targeting secondary education by allocating more education budgets is important if the country is to expand access to secondary education, reduce dropouts and grade repetition, and increase enrollment rates. In addition, school officials must develop financial and administrative skills so that they receive, distribute, and use funds in more optimal ways.

AbstractThis paper examines the sensitivity of tax revenue performance to IFRS adoption in Africa and the implication for tax policy. The study investigated how IFRS adoption affects the level of tax revenue performance in Africa. This study is one of the foundational studies, which has investigated IFRS adoption and tax revenue performance at both macro and cross-country levels. This approach presents better inclusive evidence to support tax reforms and provides the basis to validate tax regulatory apprehensions and suspicions of the adverse impact of IFRS adoption. The paper uses data from six African countries: Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and South Africa for the analyses. The data are sourced from World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Annualised data from 1996 to 2020 are used. The paper employs Pooled Mean Group (PMG) as the primary estimator and is validated by Panel Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS). The results showed that IFRS adoption could pose a significant risk to tax revenue mobilisation in Africa as evident by the significant negative long-run estimates. The results further revealed short-run positive IFRS effects. This is affirmed by the country-level analyses and trajectory of tax revenue performance across the sample periods of 1996 to 2020 for the selected countries during the pre- and post-IFRS era. It is therefore safe for African countries to pursue tax-targeted IFRS reforms to minimise the possible adverse effect of IFRS on tax revenue.

The relationship between trade openness and unemployment in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries remains an area of significant interest and concern. While trade openness is often advocated for fostering economic growth and development, its potential effects on employment outcomes are complex and multifaceted. Understanding the nature and nuances of this relationship within the SADC region is crucial for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to design effective strategies that balance the benefits of trade openness with the goals of reducing unemployment and promoting inclusive growth. This study evaluates the effect of trade openness on unemployment in SADC from 1980 to 2019 using panel ARDL (pooled mean group—PMG) estimation techniques. The findings of the study show that trade openness and exports negatively impact unemployment, whereas imports positively affect unemployment in the long run. This suggests that while boosting exports and real trade, openness decreases unemployment, and imports increase job losses in the long run in the SADC region. This calls for more caution on trade openness regarding what to export and import when addressing regional unemployment reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of financial development on domestic investment in West African countries. The study uses data from 1985 to 2019 and employs the pooled mean group technique. The main finding of the study is that financial development has a positive effect on domestic investment in the long run but an insignificant effect in the short run. Furthermore, remittances, real GDP per capita and trade openness increase investment rate. The results of causality tests support the view that investment is a channel through which financial development stimulates economic growth. Therefore, it is reasonable for the selected countries to formulate policies that promote domestic credit to the private sector in order to ease liquidity constraints and increase investment and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study evaluates the progress of efficient energy use and the control of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Japan between 1990 and 2012. A new indicator of energy performance is presented called environmental energy efficiency (EEE). The EEE of manufacturing industries was measured by each prefecture in Japan. We estimated the influencing factors of EEE for each industry by applying the pooled mean group (PMG) method. Our findings are as follows: First, the Japanese manufacturing industry has not been in line with the EEE improvement goals since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. However, the progress of each industry was relatively consistent by region. Second, EEE tends to improve and then deteriorate or monotonically increase as economic development progresses. Third, EEE is raised by expanding industry share. Finally, EEE, which focuses on energy reduction, is likely to increase with the progress of energy-saving technology.

AbstractThe paper examines the effect of trade openness on poverty using the panel Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) estimation technique from 1980 to 2019 in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. The paper focuses on non-income poverty; in this paper, non-income poverty is measured by the human development index since this measure looks at poverty beyond just income. The paper assesses the direct and indirect effects by including the mediating variables in the non-income poverty trade openness model. The study results assist SADC governments and policymakers in addressing poverty reduction policies amid the trade openness era and identifying appropriate complementary policies for reducing poverty in SADC countries. The study’s findings indicate that trade openness reduces non-income poverty (NPOV) in SADC countries in the long run. Again, the empirical results suggest that trade openness reduces NPOV when economic growth and human capital development are high. Yet, trade openness worsens NPOV when income inequality increases. Surprisingly an inconsistent result indicates that a mediating variable of trade openness and financial development has a negative effect on NPOV in SADC countries. This calls for SADC governments and policymaking institutions to revamp the trade opening reform by making economic growth sustainable and inclusive, improving the education system’s quality, maintaining income distribution, and making pro-poor financial systems across the region.

The paper examines the effect of trade openness on poverty using the panel Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) estimation technique from 1980 to 2019 in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. The paper focuses on non-income poverty; in this paper, non-income poverty is measured by the human development index since this measure looks at poverty beyond just income. The paper assesses the direct and indirect effects by including the mediating variables in the non-income poverty trade openness model. The study results assist SADC governments and policymakers in addressing poverty reduction policies amid the trade openness era and identifying appropriate complementary policies for reducing poverty in SADC countries. The study's findings indicate that trade openness reduces non-income poverty (NPOV) in SADC countries in the long run. Again, the empirical results suggest that trade openness reduces NPOV when economic growth and human capital development are high. Yet, trade openness worsens NPOV when income inequality increases. Surprisingly an inconsistent result indicates that a mediating variable of trade openness and financial development has a negative effect on NPOV in SADC countries. This calls for SADC governments and policymaking institutions to revamp the trade opening reform by making economic growth sustainable and inclusive, improving the education system's quality, maintaining income distribution, and making pro-poor financial systems across the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the impact of foreign aid on economic growth (EG) of 40 Sub-Saharan African countries classified according to their colonial history and the level of income. Domestic capital formation and labour participation served as control variables. For empirical analysis, annual data for the period 1982–2018 are used, and a structural model is estimated using the pooled mean group estimation approach. The results reveal that (1) bilateral foreign aids (bfa) strongly favour the Francophone better than the Anglophone as it exerts strong favourable effect on the former (2) Multilateral aid exerts strong unfavourable effect on the Anglophone but weak on the francophone (3) only bilateral aid is a significant positive determinant of EG in low income countries (LICs) and low middle income countries (LMICs) in the long-run and in upper middle income countries (UMICs) in the short-run. One percent increase in bfa increases EG by −1.829%, 18.95%, 7.998%, 40.19% and 187.2% in the Anglophone, francophone, LICs, LMICs, and UMICs, respectively. These suggest that to significantly increase output productivity in the regions more of bilateral aid is required. To encourage inflow of foreign aid, complementary gross fixed capital formation should be increased and labour productivity enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is aimed at establishing the impact of foreign direct investment and financial development on carbon dioxide emission and clean energy using 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa ranging from 1998 to 2017. Employing a second generation unit root test in conjunction with Pooled Mean Group, the study established that financial development have significant positive impact on clean energy consumption in sub-Saharan Africa. This was found to be consistent in both low-income and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Financial development is however found to be significantly negative with carbon dioxide in sub-Saharan Africa and middle-income countries. This relationship is only positive in the low-income countries. Foreign direct investment does not have any significant impact on clean energy consumption in sub-Saharan Africa. A significant impact is noted after the decomposition of the sample into low-income and high-income countries. In low-income countries, foreign direct investment inflows impact positively on clean energy consumption. This relationship is however negative with middle-income countries. The link between foreign direct investment and carbon dioxide is significantly positive in the whole sample and also in low-income countries. These long-run relationships have been confirmed by the causality test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the progress of efficient energy use and the control of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Japan between 1990 and 2012. A new indicator of energy performance is presented called environmental energy efficiency (EEE). The EEE of manufacturing industries was measured by each prefecture in Japan. We estimated the influencing factors of EEE for each industry by applying the pooled mean group (PMG) method. Our findings are as follows: First, the Japanese manufacturing industry has not been in line with the EEE improvement goals since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. However, the progress of each industry was relatively consistent by region. Second, EEE tends to improve and then deteriorate or monotonically increase as economic development progresses. Third, EEE is raised by expanding industry share. Finally, EEE, which focuses on energy reduction, is likely to increase with the progress of energy-saving technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study suggests ways for emerging economies, which are currently experiencing major transitions, to make efficient use of their ecological footprint for survival. The authors utilise panel data from 1980 to 2016 and the pooled mean group estimation technique for the analysis. The determinants of ecological efficiency (EE) include gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, GDP per capita square, industrialisation, population density, and life expectancy. The relationship between GDP per capita and EE exhibits a curvilinear trend among these countries. An increase in life expectancy and industrialisation has a positive impact on EE, while an increase in population density reduces EE. The study suggests that efforts should be made to attain a higher level of GDP, more industrialisation, and higher life expectancy so that EE may be increased with population stabilising measures needed to achieve such efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sought to examine the nexus between human capital and environmental sustainability in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. This contemporary topic has not received much attention in the region, hence the need to investigate the nexus between human capital and environmental sustainability. The paper used one of the most recent methodologies, namely, the pooled mean group (PMG) estimation technique, to assess this relationship from 1980 to 2021. The findings of the study are that human capital increases environmental sustainability in the long run in SADC countries. This implies that as human capital increases, countries will see an increase in technological innovations and research and development (R&D), enabling the mitigation of environmental degradation in the region. Therefore, it is imperative for the region to embark on human capital programs that improve environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has become an issue of concern for sustainable agriculture production. East African nations are heavily reliant on the agriculture sector, which accounts for a substantial amount of their gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. Due to climatic fluctuations, the output of the sector became very unpredictable. Hence, this study investigates the effects of climate change on cereal crop production in nine East African nations between 1990 and 2018. The study implemented pooled mean group (PMG) approach to examine the long-run and short-run dynamic impacts of the varying climatic circumstances on the output of cereal crops. The results reveal that rainfall and carbon emissions have favourable and significant long-run effects on cereal crop output, even though their short-run impacts are negligible. Additionally, cultivated land area and rural population have a constructive role in enhancing agricultural output both in the long-run and short-run. However, average temperatures have negative repercussions on cereal crop production in the long-run and short-run, even though the magnitude of sensitivity is greater in the short-run. Dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) validated the robustness of the long-run findings of the PMG technique. Besides, the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality outcomes indicate that cereal crop output has a bidirectional causality with temperature, carbon emissions, and cropped area. The study further demonstrated unidirectional causation from rural population to cereal crop yield. The study recommends that East African policymakers improve the quality of farm inputs, the adoption of climate-resilient farming practices, the development of water retention facilities and the establishment of crop diversification initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last four decades, the relative price of investment goods in Africa has gone through a relatively large decrease, resulting in a steady convergence towards the levels recorded in high‐income countries. This fact begs the following question: To what extent might the relative price decrease be a driving force behind the economic performance of this continent? The paper addresses this question from the perspective of a panel ARDL approach, using the Solow growth model—augmented with barriers to investment—as a framework. The results reveal that a one‐unit decrease in the relative price of investment leads, in the long term, to a 4% increase in per capita GDP, an increase that could be neutralised by a 6.5 percentage points decrease in the savings rate. The findings contribute to the case for a policy mix that combines policies geared towards reducing investment distortions with those promoting savings mobilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to determine the factors energising economic growth using balanced panel data between 1997 and 2017 from 44 developing economies. The heterogeneous panel data estimator, namely the pool mean group (PMG) estimator is utilised to analyse the data. We find national leadership, telecommunication technology and finance significantly impact growth. Additionally, the effects of finance and telecommunication on growth are both contingents upon exemplary leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the calendar and calendar-seasonal effects on foreign investors’ housing acquisitions in the Turkish real estate market and its influence on the Turkish construction indexes. Understanding the pattern of housing acquisition by foreign investors in Turkish real estate could be essential information for policymakers. The Turkish statistical database reflects 23 prominent countries’ foreign housing acquisitors in Turkey, and all data were analysed. This study employed quantitative analysis of unbalanced panel data obtained from Turk-Statistics, which ranges from January 2015 to May 2023. The pooled Mean Group/ ARDL Lag model was used for the analysis. The finding established a long-run positive association between foreigners’ housing acquisitions in Turkey and Turkish construction indices. The short-run trend is positively significant for all foreign investors across the model. In addition, the finding revealed that a series of lag construction indices and housing acquisitions predicted short-run deviations. The finding closes the research gap and contributes crucial information to the policymakers in taking necessary policy action when required. The study also provides essential information to foreign investors on their investment decisions, especially on the relationship between foreign housing acquisitions and the influence of the Turkish adjusted construction indexes.

Using the World Bank data over the period of 1960–2019, this study aims at estimating the resiliency of health expenditures against gross domestic product (GDP). Long-run and short-run elasticities are calculated using the type of panel time series methods that are exclusively designed for dynamic heterogeneous panels: Mean Group, Pooled Mean Group, and Dynamic Fixed Effects estimators. These methods permit better estimations of elasticity with considerable heterogeneity across the 177 countries included in this study. Along with a standard elasticity estimation, this study estimates country-specific long-run and short-run elasticities along with error correction components. The study finds that the long-run elasticity of income is very close to unity, but short-run coefficients are insignificant for most nations. In addition, most countries revert to long-run equilibrium reasonably quickly if there is shock as the error correction coefficients are negative and, in many cases, very close to one. While for most developed countries, the short-run elasticities are lower in comparison with the short-run elasticities of developing countries indicating that many developing countries may face a larger decrease in health expenditure with the forecasted decline in income due to impending economic recession. Therefore, although this study is not directly intended to capture the post-COVID-19 effects, the study estimates may project the potential responses in health expenditure across countries due to potential income shocks.

Industrialization is considered imperative for growth but energy transitions are paramount for inclusive and green growth especially for a region with low financial sector development to spur investment in renewable energy. This study thus unbundles the interrelation among renewable energy production, financial development, and real per capita growth in 32 selected African countries from the period of 1996 to 2018. These countries are categorized on the basis of oil-rich and non-oil-rich as well as income levels. The study employs Pooled Mean Group, Augmented Mean Group, and Dynamic OLS, and key findings are established. The findings reveal a significantly positive renewable energy-economic growth relationship in all the different groups. Financial development is also found to improve economic performance in all categories except in non-oil-rich African countries. These findings empirically support the need for cleaner energy in the production process to spur inclusive and green growth amidst current global concern for climate change and global warning. This study thus recommends the restructuring of the energy pricing system, provision of long-term finance, adoption of risk mitigation instruments, and improved institutional framework for private participation in renewable energy infrastructural development for growth sustainability in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the notion that economies with abundant natural resource revenues should have a lower default risk and thus a lower share of public debt, this notion is not generally valid. Natural resources in these countries serve as a guarantee to procure more public loans and binds them in debt trap. In this regard, this article examines the short-term and long-term effects of natural resource rent on public debt in developing countries during 2000-2020. For this purpose, first, a model was designed with the presence of basic variables affecting public debt, along with the variable of share of natural resource rent from GDP, and using panel co-integration tests, the existence of a long-term equilibrium relationship between the variables of the model was confirmed. Finally, the pooled mean group (PMG) approach was used to measure long-term and short-term relationships, and the e Dumitrescu-Hurlin test was used to determine causality. The findings of this research show that the effect of the share of natural resource rent from GDP on public debt is negative (and significant) in the short term and positive (and significant) in the long term. The results of the Dumitrescu-Hurlin test also indicate the existence of a two-way causal relationship between the abundance of natural resources and public debt. Based on this, it can be said that the abundance of natural resources in developing countries leads to higher public debts in the long term, and high levels of public debts also cause rapid extraction of natural resources in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study investigates the foreign direct investment (FDI) impact on the environmental quality of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, examining relevant hypotheses over the period 1995–2014. First- and second-generation panel econometric techniques are applied to identify a possible non-linear relationship between FDI and environmental degradation through the examination of the dynamic linkages between FDI, economic growth, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions. The results show that FDI has a non-linear impact on the environmental quality of CEE countries which follows the formation of an inverted U-shaped curve. Although increases in energy consumption result in environmental degradation, the economic growth of CEE countries has a positive effect on their environmental performance as a result of their sustainable development. The empirical findings provide policy implications concerning the implementation of environmental and energy policies related to FDI inflows and sustainable development in the CEE region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between trade openness and unemployment in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries remains an area of significant interest and concern. While trade openness is often advocated for fostering economic growth and development, its potential effects on employment outcomes are complex and multifaceted. Understanding the nature and nuances of this relationship within the SADC region is crucial for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to design effective strategies that balance the benefits of trade openness with the goals of reducing unemployment and promoting inclusive growth. This study evaluates the effect of trade openness on unemployment in SADC from 1980 to 2019 using panel ARDL (pooled mean group—PMG) estimation techniques. The findings of the study show that trade openness and exports negatively impact unemployment, whereas imports positively affect unemployment in the long run. This suggests that while boosting exports and real trade, openness decreases unemployment, and imports increase job losses in the long run in the SADC region. This calls for more caution on trade openness regarding what to export and import when addressing regional unemployment reduction policies.

The impact of foreign direct investment on the host country’s economic growth has been a source of debate in past theoretical and empirical investigations. The PMG/ARDL model, which has a practical advantage in examining the effect of foreign direct investment in the short and long run, has received little attention in prior empirical investigations. This study investigates the effect of foreign direct investment on the economic growth of Sub-Saharan African countries. The study examined panel data from 22 nations in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1988 to 2019. The PMG/ARDL model was used to look at the short- and long-term effects of foreign direct investment on economic growth. The panel unit root test and panel co-integration test were employed to improve the model’s estimation. According to the findings, in the long run, foreign direct investment has a favorable and significant effect, but it is statistically insignificant in the short run. The study concludes that foreign direct investment boosts long-term economic growth. As a result, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa should focus on attracting foreign direct investment.

There are papers on association about natural resources, economic expansion, and their effect on the quality of the environment in Central Asia. However, no study has investigated the effect of human capital in this nexus concerning the Central Asian states. Thus this study investigates the link between natural resources, economic expansion, human capital, and CO2 in Central Asian states by employing Pooled Mean Group (PMG) and the Dumitrescu and Hurlin (DH) causality tests from 1995 to 2018. The outcomes from the PMG model showed that human capital has an opposite and significant association with CO2 in the short and long run. Therefore, it is stated that local human capital with higher environmental awareness through education and training makes a positive impact on environmental quality. With the growth of the natural resources index and expansion of the economy, Central Asian emissions will rise. With a positive and substantial coefficient of the natural resources, the finding suggests that, even though Central Asian states have plenty of natural resources, they are unable to exploit them efficiently to reap good rent advantages to reduce the emissions. The outcomes of the causality test stated that the index of natural resources, economic expansion, and human capital have one-way causality with emissions. The important policies and recommendations for maintaining the economic and environmental sustainability of this country are provided at the end of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction has become an important concern worldwide. During the past century, human activities have been a significant cause of the increase in the level of greenhouse gases. Past research mainly focuses on evaluating the nexus between unidimensional population factors and CO2 emissions, while few prior studies in a developing country have reported the impact of multidimensional demographic factors on CO2 emissions. As an initial attempt, this study investigates the short- and long-run associations between population factors, low-carbon innovation, and carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) for a panel consisting of 285 cities by employing the pooled mean group (PMG) estimator under the framework of the panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. Our main findings are as follows: (1) Population size and population density could increase CO2 emissions, while population quality and low-carbon innovation were essential factors that alleviate carbon emission pressure in the long run. (2) Economic development, foreign direct investment, and industrial development were found to be factors causing the increase in carbon emissions. (3) The split-sample analysis demonstrated that the improvement of population quality still has a positive and significant long-run effect on environmental quality. Simultaneously, low-carbon innovation could realize the enormous dividends of carbon emission reduction in the long run, especially in existing relatively larger CO2 emission areas. Finally, the paper presents important policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high proportion of nonrenewable energy in total energy consumption is leading the world economies toward severe environmental issues. This has motivated the environmentalists to come forward for encouraging masses around the world to use environmentally friendly renewable energy instead of environment-damaging nonrenewable energy. The UNDP is also playing its role in spreading the importance of clean energy in goal 7 of the SDGs. Therefore, the present study is aimed to inquire about the asymmetric influence of clean and unclean energy consumption on environmental quality in environmentally poor economies. In the present study, data from forty-two environmentally poor economies for the period from 1995 to 2019 are extracted, and a heterogeneous pooled mean group estimator is employed to estimate the results. The findings expose that the use of clean energy initially improves transport-based environmental quality while it damages industry-based environmental quality in the beginning. In the later stage, the use of clean energy hurts transport-based environmental quality while it improves industry-based environmental quality. This concludes that the use of clean energy reveals a U-shaped impact on transport-based environmental quality but it has an inverted U-shaped impact on industry-based environmental quality in the selected economies. The results further expose that use of unclean energy is leaving an inverted U-shaped influence on transport-based environmental quality while it leaves a U-shaped impact on industry-based environmental quality. These results are important from a policy perspective as these help in controlling the net carbon emissions by targeting transport-based environmental quality in environmentally poor economies. • The study finds asymmetric impact of energy on environmental quality. • The PMG estimator on an annual data series from 1995 to 2019 is applied. • Clean energy discloses U-shaped impact on transport based environmental quality. • It exposes inverted U-shaped impact on industrial based environmental quality. • Unclean energy reports opposite results as compared to the results of clean energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the nexus between oil price volatility and market valuation of listed energy companies in Nigeria, within a dynamic heterogeneous panel model framework. The paper utilizes the pooled mean group estimator in analysing the hypothesized relationship among equity valuation of listed energy companies in Nigeria, oil price volatility, and two control variables – firm profitability and inflation rate. The overwhelming weight of the evidence emerging from key findings of the study indicates that a distinct difference exists between the short-run impact of oil price volatility on the equity valuation of oil firms in Nigeria from the long-run impacts. While the short-run results show a mix of negative and positive, but statistically significant impacts of oil price volatility on equity valuation across listed oil firms, the long-run results indicate a statistically significant positive impact of oil price volatility on the stock valuation of energy firms in Nigeria. The short-run results are highly suggestive of the important role of the level of risk investors are willing to accommodate in their decisions to invest in stocks under different economic scenarios, in explaining stock returns for each of the oil-producing firms in Nigeria. The paper concludes that the risk premium investors place on stocks of oil companies is central in explaining the short-run impact of oil price volatility on the equity valuation of oil firms in Nigeria.

This study examines the dynamic heterogeneous effect of government expenditures on economic growth in 20 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries during the 1990–2016 period. The results reveal that a dynamic adjustment in economic growth in the MENA region occurred from the short to the long run. Arguably, government expenditures can promote economic growth. In the long run, the coefficients of government expenditures are positive and significant in oil and non‐oil countries; in the short run, the coefficient is statistically significant in oil countries but not in non‐oil countries. The coefficients of government expenditures markedly differ between the two groups. For the MENA region, as a whole, government expenditures exhibit a crowding‐in effect instead of a crowding‐out effect on growth. Importantly, to sustain economic growth, non‐oil countries must embark fiscal reform measures promptly by optimizing government expenditures. Oil countries should consider the implications of short‐ and medium‐term fiscal imbalances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sought to examine the nexus between human capital and environmental sustainability in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. This contemporary topic has not received much attention in the region, hence the need to investigate the nexus between human capital and environmental sustainability. The paper used one of the most recent methodologies, namely, the pooled mean group (PMG) estimation technique, to assess this relationship from 1980 to 2021. The findings of the study are that human capital increases environmental sustainability in the long run in SADC countries. This implies that as human capital increases, countries will see an increase in technological innovations and research and development (R&D), enabling the mitigation of environmental degradation in the region. Therefore, it is imperative for the region to embark on human capital programs that improve environmental sustainability.

This study aims to analyze the impact of ICT, renewable energy consumption, and financial development on CO2 emissions in selected developing countries of East and South Asia. Using panel data spanning 1985–2020, Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator is used to analyze the short-run and long-run effects. Results suggest that ICT and financial development positively contribute to the degradation of the environment in the long run, while their impact on CO2 emissions is insignificant in the short run. On the other hand, renewable energy consumption affects environmental quality positively in both the long run and short run. It is also examined that economic growth affects CO2 emissions positively but the squared economic growth reduces CO2 emissions which validates inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis. The empirical findings of the Granger Causality test suggest unidirectional causality from ICT and financial development to CO2 emissions, while a bi-directional relationship is found among renewable energy and CO2 emissions. Results imply that governments in these countries need to invest in renewable energy to control environmental degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study models overall and bilateral tourism competitiveness in small Pacific island countries (PICs), namely, Cook Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu. The pooled mean group approach, which corrects for cross-sectional dependence and non-stationarity, is used for estimation with quarterly data from 2002 to 2019. The findings indicate that for Fiji and Vanuatu, other PICs are competing destinations and that Fiji and Vanuatu face the strongest bilateral competition amongst the selected PICs. Cross-price elasticities are insignificant for Tonga and are generally negative for the Cook Islands and Samoa. Thus, while for Fiji and Vanuatu, the Cook Islands is a competing destination, Fiji and Vanuatu are complementary destinations for the Cook Islands. Therefore, destinations that more closely resemble each other face stronger competition, and the nature and strength of competitive behaviour between two destinations are different for each concerned destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]