IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i4p2450-d754117.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic Policy Uncertainty, Social Development, Political Regimes and Environmental Quality

Author

Listed:
  • Hang Su

    (School of Economics and Finance, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 74 Yanta Road, Yanta District, Xi’an 710061, China)

  • Yong Geng

    (School of Business, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, China)

  • Xi-Qiang Xia

    (School of Business, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Road, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

  • Quan-Jing Wang

    (School of Business, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Road, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the influence of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) on environmental performance, as well as the moderating effect of social development and the political regimes in EPU’s influence on environmental performance. To investigate such essential issues, we conducted Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimations by utilizing cross-country data covering 137 countries during the period of 2001–2018, according to the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) model. Our empirical estimations support that EPU negatively affects environmental performance; this idea was still supported when we conducted an empirical analysis by changing the measurements, employing alternative estimations and constructing new samples. Furthermore, not only would the absolute level of EPU bring worse environmental performance, but so would an increase in EPU. Moreover, higher economic performance, globalization and a high quality of governance can help countries to alleviate the adverse environmental effect of EPU. Additionally, EPU’s negative effect on environmental performance is stronger in right-wing countries, autocracies and non-OECD countries, compared to their counterparts. Our study provides substantial policy implications for governments participating in the international treaties of environmental protection, to mitigate environmental degradation.

Suggested Citation

  • Hang Su & Yong Geng & Xi-Qiang Xia & Quan-Jing Wang, 2022. "Economic Policy Uncertainty, Social Development, Political Regimes and Environmental Quality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2450-:d:754117
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2450/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2450/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. N. Bloom, 2016. "Fluctuations in uncertainty," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 4.
    2. Wang, Quan-Jing & Feng, Gen-Fu & Chen, Yin E. & Wen, Jun & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2019. "The impacts of government ideology on innovation: What are the main implications?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(5), pages 1232-1247.
    3. Massimo Guidolin & Eliana La Ferrara, 2010. "The economic effects of violent conflict: Evidence from asset market reactions," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 47(6), pages 671-684, November.
    4. Degiannakis, Stavros & Filis, George & Panagiotakopoulou, Sofia, 2018. "Oil price shocks and uncertainty: How stable is their relationship over time?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 42-53.
    5. Muhammad Shahbaz & Mantu Kumar Mahalik & Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad & Shawkat Hammoudeh, 2019. "Does the environmental Kuznets curve exist between globalization and energy consumption? Global evidence from the cross‐correlation method," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(1), pages 540-557, January.
    6. Al-Thaqeb, Saud Asaad & Algharabali, Barrak Ghanim, 2019. "Economic policy uncertainty: A literature review," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    7. Bakas, Dimitrios & Triantafyllou, Athanasios, 2020. "Commodity price volatility and the economic uncertainty of pandemics," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    8. Kang, Wensheng & Ratti, Ronald A. & Vespignani, Joaquin L., 2017. "Oil price shocks and policy uncertainty: New evidence on the effects of US and non-US oil production," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 536-546.
    9. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    10. Balcilar, Mehmet & Gupta, Rangan & Segnon, Mawuli, 2016. "The role of economic policy uncertainty in predicting U.S. recessions: A mixed-frequency Markov-switching vector autoregressive approach," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 10, pages 1-20.
    11. Atsu, Francis & Adams, Samuel, 2021. "Energy consumption, finance, and climate change: Does policy uncertainty matter?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 490-501.
    12. Wen, Jun & Hao, Yu & Feng, Gen-Fu & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2016. "Does government ideology influence environmental performance? Evidence based on a new dataset," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 232-246.
    13. Scott R Baker & Robert A Farrokhnia & Steffen Meyer & Michaela Pagel & Constantine Yannelis & Jeffrey Pontiff, 0. "How Does Household Spending Respond to an Epidemic? Consumption during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic," The Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(4), pages 834-862.
    14. Danish & Recep Ulucak & Salah‐Ud‐Din Khan, 2020. "Relationship between energy intensity and CO2 emissions: Does economic policy matter?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1457-1464, September.
    15. Yu, Jian & Shi, Xunpeng & Guo, Dongmei & Yang, Longjian, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and firm carbon emissions: Evidence using a China provincial EPU index," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    16. Quan-Jing Wang & Yong Geng & Xi-Qiang Xia, 2021. "Revisited Globalization’s Impact on Total Environment: Evidence Based on Overall Environmental Performance Index," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-16, October.
    17. Wen, Fenghua & Li, Cui & Sha, Han & Shao, Liuguo, 2021. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect corporate risk-taking? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    18. Christian Bjørnskov & Martin Rode, 2020. "Regime types and regime change: A new dataset on democracy, coups, and political institutions," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 531-551, April.
    19. Hailemariam, Abebe & Smyth, Russell & Zhang, Xibin, 2019. "Oil prices and economic policy uncertainty: Evidence from a nonparametric panel data model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 40-51.
    20. Phan, Dinh Hoang Bach & Iyke, Bernard Njindan & Sharma, Susan Sunila & Affandi, Yoga, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and financial stability–Is there a relation?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1018-1029.
    21. Adams, Samuel & Adedoyin, Festus & Olaniran, Eniola & Bekun, Festus Victor, 2020. "Energy consumption, economic policy uncertainty and carbon emissions; causality evidence from resource rich economies," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 179-190.
    22. Margrethe Winslow, 2005. "Is Democracy Good for the Environment?," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(5), pages 771-783.
    23. Hoang, Khanh & Nguyen, Cuong & Zhang, Hailiang, 2021. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect corporate diversification?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 254-269.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Song, Yanwu & Wang, Can & Wang, Zhaohua, 2023. "Climate risk, institutional quality, and total factor productivity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    2. Lu Yang & Yong-Zhan Zheng & Hsiao-Hsien Lin & I-Shen Chen & Kuan-Yu Chen & Qi-Yuan Li & I-En Tsai, 2023. "Under the Risk of COVID-19 Epidemic: A Study on the Influence of Life Attitudes, Leisure Sports Values, and Workplace Risk Perceptions on Urban Development and Public Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Guang Chen & Yue Deng & Apurbo Sarkar & Zhengbing Wang, 2022. "An Integrated Assessment of Different Types of Environment-Friendly Technological Progress and Their Spatial Spillover Effects in the Chinese Agriculture Sector," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-24, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hai-Jie Wang & Yong Geng & Xi-Qiang Xia & Quan-Jing Wang, 2021. "Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on Carbon Emissions: Evidence from 137 Multinational Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Shabir, Mohsin & Jiang, Ping & Bakhsh, Satar & Zhao, Zhongxiu, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and bank stability: Threshold effect of institutional quality and competition," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    3. Ioannis Dokas & Georgios Oikonomou & Minas Panagiotidis & Eleftherios Spyromitros, 2023. "Macroeconomic and Uncertainty Shocks’ Effects on Energy Prices: A Comprehensive Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-35, February.
    4. Dang, Van Dan & Nguyen, Hoang Chung, 2022. "Bank profitability under uncertainty," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 119-134.
    5. Charemza, Wojciech & Makarova, Svetlana & Rybiński, Krzysztof, 2022. "Economic uncertainty and natural language processing; The case of Russia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 546-562.
    6. Lin, Boqiang & Bai, Rui, 2021. "Oil prices and economic policy uncertainty: Evidence from global, oil importers, and exporters’ perspective," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    7. Gu, Xin & Zhu, Zixiang & Yu, Minli, 2021. "The macro effects of GPR and EPU indexes over the global oil market—Are the two types of uncertainty shock alike?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    8. Abiodun Moses Adetokunbo & Afe Success Mevhare, 2024. "The interconnectivity between green stocks, oil prices, and uncertainty surrounding economic policy: indications from the United States," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 1-26, February.
    9. Borozan, Dj, 2022. "Asymmetric effects of policy uncertainty on renewable energy consumption in G7 countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 412-420.
    10. Nguyen, Duc Nguyen & Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Dang, Le Phuong Xuan, 2022. "Uncertainty and corporate default risk: Novel evidence from emerging markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Quan-Jing Wang & Yong Geng & Xi-Qiang Xia, 2021. "The Impact of Globalization on Forest Growth: Evidence from Multinational Panel Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-19, December.
    12. Wang, Yilei & Cheng, Sheng & Cao, Yan, 2022. "How does economic policy uncertainty respond to the global oil price fluctuations? Evidence from BRICS countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Ruixin Su & Jianguo Du & Fakhar Shahzad & Xingle Long, 2020. "Unveiling the Effect of Mean and Volatility Spillover between the United States Economic Policy Uncertainty and WTI Crude Oil Price," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-12, August.
    14. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2023. "Effect of Economic Uncertainty on Remittances Flows from Developed Countries," EconStor Preprints 279480, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    15. Balcilar, Mehmet & Ozdemir, Zeynel Abidin & Ozdemir, Huseyin & Aygun, Gurcan & Wohar, Mark E., 2022. "The macroeconomic impact of economic uncertainty and financial shocks under low and high financial stress," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    16. Sheng Cheng & Wei Liu & Qisheng Jiang & Yan Cao, 2023. "Multi–Scale Risk Connectedness Between Economic Policy Uncertainty of China and Global Oil Prices in Time–Frequency Domains," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 1593-1616, April.
    17. Claudiu Tiberiu Albulescu, 2020. "Coronavirus and oil price crash," Working Papers hal-02507184, HAL.
    18. Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad & Rangan Gupta & Riza Demirer & Christian Pierdzioch, 2022. "Oil shocks and directional predictability of macroeconomic uncertainties of developed economies: Evidence from high‐frequency data†," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 69(2), pages 169-185, May.
    19. Wei Yang & Yifu Zhang & Yuan Hu, 2022. "Heterogeneous Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on Provincial Environmental Pollution Emissions in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-13, April.
    20. Yifei Li & Yuhang Bai, 2023. "Research on the Impact of Global Economic Policy Uncertainty on Manufacturing: Evidence from China, the United States, and the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-18, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2450-:d:754117. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.