Revisiting environmental degradation and economic growth nexus using autoregressive distributed lag approach

Purpose - The paper attempts to revisit the nexus between economic growth, carbon emissions, trade openness, financial effectiveness and FDI for a sample of seven developed and developing countries using curvilinear relationship as per environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis over long term. Design/methodology/approach - The authors determine the unit root properties of variables (using Clemente–Montañés–Reyes unit root test with double mean shifts and AO model and augmented Dickey–Fuller test) for structural breaks at different levels. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and error correction model (ECM) methodology was used to estimate long- and short-run parameters among the selected variables in sample countries from 1965 to 2016. Vector error correction (VEC) and Granger causality approach was used to determine the direction of causality. Findings - The authors confirmed long-run relationship among the variables and highlighted high economic growth and energy consumption as the main causes of environmental degradation. While in India financial development and FDI inflows depict a negative association with environmental sustainability, however, such relationship was positive in the United Kingdom (UK), which is often considered as a benchmark for policymakers. The authors’ findings were in agreement with existing research insights in reporting FDI and financial development as the major contributors towards (unsustainable) sustainable environment through emissions in case of (developing country like India) developed country like UK. For other sample countries (China, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, United States of America (USA)), the authors’ model failed to capture financial development and FDI as significant contributors of carbon emissions. However, unidirectional causality running from energy to carbon emission was observed leading to the policy adoption of incentivizing alternative energy-based resources to increase energy efficiency across the energy value chain. Research limitations/implications - Manufacturing with renewable energy, in collaboration with private and foreign players, under an institutional framework is desirable. Policy instruments including mandatory administrative controls, economic incentives and voluntary schemes that promote energy efficiency building blocks need to be established. A sound legal system for implementing technological innovation, financial subsidy incentives, interest-free loan programmes and development of financial sector supports creation and thriving of energy efficient units, often a perquisite for accelerated development. Originality/value - By undertaking a comparative analysis, the authors address the research gap through revisiting EKC hypothesis with different set of trade policy and financial development framework. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, earlier studies were limited to one-country data analysis and did not consider the comparative data set of developed and developing countries with reference to financial development and FDI components.