فهرست مطالب hossein-ali fakher

The dynamic link between economic growth and environmental quality has drawn the attention of numerous scholars to the problem of clean production and sustainable development. In light of this backdrop, the aim of this study is to provide a framework for discovering a good understanding of economic policies in connection to sustainable environments by looking at the mediating role of financial development. In this regard, the System Generalized Method of Moment (SYS-GMM) estimator is used to investigate the role of financial development in the effect of economic growth on six environmental indicators for selected 30 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries from 2000 to 2019. The results showed that along with the effect of economic growth on each of the environmental indicators, including ecological footprint, adjusted net savings, pressure on nature, and environmental performance, financial development weakens this effect. Meanwhile, no significant relationship has been observed regarding the indicators of environmental sustainability and environmental vulnerability. In other words, the negative impact of economic growth on environmental quality is not independent of financial development; so that with the gradual improvement of financial development, economic growth will have a less negative impact on the quality of the environment. Moreover, regarding each of the environmental indicators, energy consumption has a positive effect on environmental degradation. However, trade openness and financial development have positive influences on environmental quality. Given the critical role of financial development in mitigating the detrimental effects of economic growth on the quality of the environment, governments are urged to boost the financial development sector in their macroeconomic policies.

The purpose of this paper is to apply a composite index for environmental quality to investigate the threshold impact of financial development on this composite index; Because the use of this composite index, which includes all dimensions of environmental pollution, can provide more accurate results for us in this study.

In order to rech the research goals, annual data for selected OPEC countries over the period of 2000 to 2019 and Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) approach are used. Firstly, a composite environmental quality index is created as a dependent variable in the model and then, the pre-estimations (including cross-sectional dependence, second-generation unit root, nonlinear association existence, no-remaining nonlinear association existence) are investigated. Finally, the threshold impact of financial development on environmental quality are estimated.

The results indicate a non-linear relationship between the studied variables. According to the test of no-remaining nonlinear association, the inclusion of a transfer function with a threshold parameter which is representing a two-regime model, is recommended to determine the nonlinear relationship between variables. Financial development (bank- and market-oriented) in first regime have a positive effect, but by crossing of threshold and entering to second regime it has negative effect on environmental quality. Accordingly, there is a U-shaped relationship between financial development and environmental quality. Given the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality in the two regimes, the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is also confirmed. The trade openness and, research and development expenditures in both regimes have negative and positive effects on the composite environmental quality index, respectively.

Based on the results, some policy suggestions and new recommendations are presented for future studies, which would contribute to the better implementation of economic–environmental policies.

This paper aimed to create a composite index for environmental quality. Since the results of empirical studies on economic - environmental variables nexus, considering different environmental indicators, are not consistent with each other; it seems necessary to use a comprehensive index that includes all dimensions of environmental pollution.

Using 6 environmental indicators related to two groups of selected OPEC and OECD countries for the period 2010 to 2019 and using three methods including principal component analysis, kernel-based principal component analysis, fuzzy robust principal component analysis, the creation of a composite environmental quality index is examined.

The results showed that FRPCA method has more efficiency and ability in weighting environmental indicators than other methods due to having the lowest error criteria. Therefore, using this method, the composite index was calculated. Moreover, the results showed that along with the upward trend of economic growth, the quality of the environment follows a downward trend in OPEC countries and an upward trend in OECD countries.

 Based on the results, policy recommendations as well as new perspectives and suggestions for future studies are presented.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) and environmental quality contributes very significantly to all parts of the world, especially developing countries. These two factors have been so important that are known as the engine of economic growth and progression. This paper aimed to examine the association between environmental sustainability index, economic growth, and FDI in selected developing countries. Estimation of long-run coefficients is carried out by using Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) and Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS), and the estimation of short-term coefficients and causality relationships using Pooled Mean Group (PMG) method in panel data for intervals 2000-2020. The outcomes of long-term estimates of variables indicate that each variable is statistically significant; so that, FDI has the greatest effect on the economic growth. The environmental quality index had a significantly positive impact on the economic growth; so that, after FDI variable, it significantly affected economic growth in selected developing countries. There is a significantly positive relationship between FDI and quality of environment and economic growth in short term. In the equation of environmental quality index, economic growth, FDI and trade openness show a significantly negative impact on quality of environment in the short term. Generally, as it was observed from the short-term and long-term relationships, the association between economic growth and quality of environment is a two-way causality relationship.

Although the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation has been supported by theoretical justifications from empirical studies, including the EKC curve, it has not yet gained sufficient comprehensiveness and acceptance. Accordingly, in line with the main purpose of this study, the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation was retrospectively examined in the framework of EKC hypothesis.

This research has been done as an original paper using keyword analysis methods. The statistical sample of the research includes Web of Science (WOS), Scopus search engine and Scientific Information Database (SID). About 1340 records were extracted in various formats such as articles, books, conferences, conferences, abstracts, and notes. Among these, 340 records were related to scientific articles, of which 122 records were allocated to articles with keywords. Accordingly, these articles were considered for analysis.

On one hand, considering the different and contradictory results that have been the result of the work of many researchers in this field, and on the other hand, given that the type of environmental indicators used in all these studies is not a comprehensive indicator for the environmental quality, the obtained results will be invalid and cannot be the right criterion for adopting and implementing appropriate economic-environmental policies.

Originality/Value:

Using a composite index showing all the dimensions related to environmental pollution and to be a true representative of environmental quality, can provide a more accurate analysis of the EKC hypothesis in future researches.

Emphasis on sustainable development and the need to protect the environment as well as the adverse effects of environmental pollution on the quality of life have made environmental protection one of the main concerns of economic policymakers. For this purpose, approaches to improve the quality of the environment and the factors affecting it have triggered extensive theoretical and empirical studies over the past few decades. These issues have caught the attention of economic analysts. Accordingly, the main objective of this study is to investigate pollution determinants in developing countries from 1996 to 2016, using Bayesian Model Averaging Method. Given the fact that the weighted mean square coefficient of GDP is positive, the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) Hypothesis can be confirmed with a high degree of certainty. The probability of this variable's effect is 0.98%, being partially a component of each of the 10 optimal models which highlights the great importance of this variable to explain the environmental performance. Energy consumption variables for each unit of GDP and value added of industry sector are placed in the second and third ranks with effectiveness probability of 0.89 and 0.85, respectively. They also have a negative impact on environmental performance. Thus, energy consumption per unit of GDP is considered one of the elements of 8 out of 10 optimal models, while the value added of the industrial sector is an element of 7 out of 10 models. This highlights the relative importance of these variables in explaining environmental performance.

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of technology transfer through the imports of intermediate goods by developing countries developed countries with the emphasis on Iran economy. For this purpose, we used multi-sectoral and multi–regional computable general equilibrium GTAP model (multi-sectoral and multi-regional CGE model). The paper examined the effect of a ten percent productivity shock in high-tech industries of industrial countries on economic sectors of Iran. The result shows that technology transfer embodied in Iran’s imports of intermediate goods leads to increase in outputs and decrease in prices. Factors such as absorptive capacity, structural similarity and effectiveness contributed to the spillover effects of technological improvements in Iran.

One of the most significant discussion and challenges propounded in the macroeconomics is the effects of fluctuations of exchange rate on the macroeconomic variables (production, employment, inflation and … etc).In this direction, the important and noticeable point is the factors which lead to fluctuations in the exchange rate which, from amongst these factors as an example, is fluctuations in the oil price. For this reason, relationship between oil price fluctuation and exchange rate seems to be important and necessary. Time period used in this study relates to the years from 1990 to 2010. Also, Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) has been used to study relationship among the variables. Results obtained from this study show the negative and significant effect of oil price fluctuations on the exchange rate. A negative and significant quantity was obtained from ECM coefficient, and this problem represents activeness of the model from short-term to long-term. The oil price changes have left asymmetrical effects on the countries in the short term, and these effects will continue in the long term as well. Of course, direction of short term effects, contrary to the long term effects, is in each level.