IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/quageo/v40y2021i2p63-76n8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Natural Resources, Urbanisation, Economic Growth and the Ecological Footprint in South Africa: The Moderating Role of Human Capital

Author

Listed:
  • Nathaniel Solomon Prince

    (Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria; Lagos State University, School of Foundation, Badagry, Nigeria)

Abstract

South Africa is the largest emitter of CO2 and arguably the most developed and urbanised country in Africa. The country currently harbours an ecological deficit territory which could be the outcome of economic expansion, urban explosion, unsustainable resource exploration and a low level of human development. After all, environmental distortions are mainly the outcome of human activities. This study is a maiden attempt to examine the linkage between urbanisation, human capital, natural resources (NR) and the ecological footprint (EF) in South Africa. Unlike previous studies, this study employs positivist and relevant environmental indicators that accommodate built-up land, forest land, carbon footprint, ocean, grazing land and cropland. Findings from the long-run results suggest that urbanisation, economic growth and NR increase the EF, whereas human capital ensures environmental sustainability. The interaction between urbanisation and human capital mitigates environmental degradation by reducing the EF. The canonical cointegrating regression (CCR), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) results further confirm the nature of the relationships and linkages existing with respect to NR, urbanisation, economic growth and the EF. A bidirectional causality exists between human capital, economic growth and the EF. Policies related to NR and urban sustainability, the limitations of the study, as well as possible directions for future research are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Nathaniel Solomon Prince, 2021. "Natural Resources, Urbanisation, Economic Growth and the Ecological Footprint in South Africa: The Moderating Role of Human Capital," Quaestiones Geographicae, Sciendo, vol. 40(2), pages 63-76, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:vrs:quageo:v:40:y:2021:i:2:p:63-76:n:8
    DOI: 10.2478/quageo-2021-0012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2021-0012
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/quageo-2021-0012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hamisu S. Ali & Solomon P. Nathaniel & Gizem Uzuner & Festus V. Bekun & Samuel A. Sarkodie, 2020. "Trivariate Modelling of the Nexus between Electricity Consumption, Urbanization and Economic Growth in Nigeria: Fresh Insights from Maki Cointegration and Causality Tests," Research Africa Network Working Papers 20/010, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    2. Anindya Banerjee & Juan Dolado & Ricardo Mestre, 1998. "Error‐correction Mechanism Tests for Cointegration in a Single‐equation Framework," Journal of Time Series Analysis, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 267-283, May.
    3. Udi Joshua & Festus V. Bekun & Samuel A. Sarkodie, 2020. "New Insight into the Causal Linkage between Economic Expansion, FDI, Coal consumption, Pollutant emissions and Urbanization in South Africa," Working Papers 20/011, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    4. Sharma, Rajesh & Sinha, Avik & Kautish, Pradeep, 2020. "Examining the impacts of economic and demographic aspects on the ecological footprint in South and Southeast Asian countries," MPRA Paper 104245, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    5. Sharif, Arshian & Baris-Tuzemen, Ozge & Uzuner, Gizem & Ozturk, Ilhan & Sinha, Avik, 2020. "Revisiting the role of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on Turkey’s ecological footprint: Evidence from Quantile ARDL approach," MPRA Paper 100044, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Johansen, Soren & Juselius, Katarina, 1990. "Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Inference on Cointegration--With Applications to the Demand for Money," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 52(2), pages 169-210, May.
    7. Ahmed, Zahoor & Asghar, Muhammad Mansoor & Malik, Muhammad Nasir & Nawaz, Kishwar, 2020. "Moving towards a sustainable environment: The dynamic linkage between natural resources, human capital, urbanization, economic growth, and ecological footprint in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Zivot, Eric & Andrews, Donald W K, 2002. "Further Evidence on the Great Crash, the Oil-Price Shock, and the Unit-Root Hypothesis," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 20(1), pages 25-44, January.
    9. Destek, Mehmet & Sinha, Avik, 2020. "Renewable, non-renewable energy consumption, economic growth, trade openness and ecological footprint: Evidence from organisation for economic Co-operation and development countries," MPRA Paper 104246, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    10. Boswijk, H. Peter, 1995. "Efficient inference on cointegration parameters in structural error correction models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 133-158, September.
    11. Susmita Dasgupta & Benoit Laplante & Hua Wang & David Wheeler, 2002. "Confronting the Environmental Kuznets Curve," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 147-168, Winter.
    12. Eyup Dogan & Nigar Taspinar & Korhan K Gokmenoglu, 2019. "Determinants of ecological footprint in MINT countries," Energy & Environment, , vol. 30(6), pages 1065-1086, September.
    13. M. Hashem Pesaran & Yongcheol Shin & Richard J. Smith, 2001. "Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 289-326.
    14. Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 2004. "Trade, Growth, and the Environment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 7-71, March.
    15. Ahmadov, Anar Kamil & van der Borg, Charlotte, 2019. "Do natural resources impede renewable energy production in the EU? A mixed-methods analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 361-369.
    16. Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Roubaud, David & Farhani, Sahbi, 2018. "How economic growth, renewable electricity and natural resources contribute to CO2 emissions?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 356-367.
    17. Panayotou T., 1993. "Empirical tests and policy analysis of environmental degradation at different stages of economic development," ILO Working Papers 992927783402676, International Labour Organization.
    18. Toda, Hiro Y. & Yamamoto, Taku, 1995. "Statistical inference in vector autoregressions with possibly integrated processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1-2), pages 225-250.
    19. Danish & Recep Ulucak & Salah Ud‐Din Khan & Muhammad Awais Baloch & Nan Li, 2020. "Mitigation pathways toward sustainable development: Is there any trade‐off between environmental regulation and carbon emissions reduction?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 813-822, July.
    20. Zameer, Hashim & Yasmeen, Humaira & Wang, Rong & Tao, Jing & Malik, Muhammad Nasir, 2020. "An empirical investigation of the coordinated development of natural resources, financial development and ecological efficiency in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    21. Ibrahim, Muazu & Sare, Yakubu Awudu, 2018. "Determinants of financial development in Africa: How robust is the interactive effect of trade openness and human capital?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 18-26.
    22. Engle, Robert & Granger, Clive, 2015. "Co-integration and error correction: Representation, estimation, and testing," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 39(3), pages 106-135.
    23. Serena Ng & Pierre Perron, 2001. "LAG Length Selection and the Construction of Unit Root Tests with Good Size and Power," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(6), pages 1519-1554, November.
    24. Christian Bayer & Christoph Hanck, 2013. "Combining non-cointegration tests," Journal of Time Series Analysis, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 83-95, January.
    25. Solomon P. Nathaniel & Festus V. Bekun, 2020. "Electricity Consumption, Urbanization and Economic Growth in Nigeria: New Insights from Combined Cointegration amidst Structural Breaks," Research Africa Network Working Papers 20/013, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    26. Al-Mulali, Usama & Saboori, Behnaz & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2015. "Investigating the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Vietnam," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 123-131.
    27. Zafar, Muhammad Wasif & Zaidi, Syed Anees Haider & Khan, Naveed R. & Mirza, Faisal Mehmood & Hou, Fujun & Kirmani, Syed Ali Ashiq, 2019. "The impact of natural resources, human capital, and foreign direct investment on the ecological footprint: The case of the United States," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    28. Ogundari, Kolawole & Awokuse, Titus, 2018. "Human capital contribution to economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does health status matter more than education?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 131-140.
    29. Zallé, Oumarou, 2019. "Natural resources and economic growth in Africa: The role of institutional quality and human capital," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 616-624.
    30. Destek, Mehmet Akif & Ulucak, Recep & Dogan, Eyüp, 2018. "Analyzing the Environmental Kuznets Curve for the EU countries: The role of ecological footprint," MPRA Paper 106882, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    31. Johansen, Soren, 1991. "Estimation and Hypothesis Testing of Cointegration Vectors in Gaussian Vector Autoregressive Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 59(6), pages 1551-1580, November.
    32. Usman, Ojonugwa & Alola, Andrew Adewale & Sarkodie, Samuel Asumadu, 2020. "Assessment of the role of renewable energy consumption and trade policy on environmental degradation using innovation accounting: Evidence from the US," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 266-277.
    33. Ndoricimpa, Arcade, 2017. "Analysis of asymmetries in the nexus among energy use, pollution emissions and real output in South Africa," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 543-551.
    34. Amiri, Arshia & Ventelou, Bruno, 2012. "Granger causality between total expenditure on health and GDP in OECD: Evidence from the Toda–Yamamoto approach," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 116(3), pages 541-544.
    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. Hui Zhang & Haiqian Ke, 2022. "Understanding the Heterogeneous Impact of Innovation Efficiency on Urban Ecological Footprint in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-16, May.

    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. Solomon Prince Nathaniel & Festus Bekun & Alimshan Faizulayev, 2021. "Modelling the Impact of Energy Consumption, Natural Resources, and Urbanization on Ecological Footprint in South Africa: Assessing the Moderating Role of Human Capital," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(3), pages 130-139.
    2. Liu, Yaping & Sadiq, Farah & Ali, Wajahat & Kumail, Tafazal, 2022. "Does tourism development, energy consumption, trade openness and economic growth matters for ecological footprint: Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve and pollution haven hypothesis for Pakistan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    3. Mary O. Agboola & Festus V. Bekun, 2019. "Does Agricultural Value Added Induce Environmental Degradation? Empirical Evidence from an Agrarian Country," CEREDEC Working Papers 19/040, Centre de Recherche pour le Développement Economique (CEREDEC).
    4. Hossain, Md. Emran & Islam, Md. Sayemul & Bandyopadhyay, Arunava & Awan, Ashar & Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Rej, Soumen, 2022. "Mexico at the crossroads of natural resource dependence and COP26 pledge: Does technological innovation help?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Md. Qamruzzaman, 2023. "Does Environmental Degradation-Led Remittances Flow? Nexus between Environmental Degradation, Uncertainty, Financial Inclusion and Remittances Inflows in India and China," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(2), pages 9-26, March.
    6. Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel & Bekun, Festus Victor & Etokakpan, Mfonobong Udom & Driha, Oana M., 2019. "A road to enhancements in natural gas use in Iran: A multivariate modelling approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    7. Syed Ale Raza Shah & Syed Asif Ali Naqvi & Sofia Anwar & Ashfaq Ahmad Shah & Abdul Majeed Nadeem, 2022. "Socio-economic impact assessment of environmental degradation in Pakistan: fresh evidence from the Markov switching equilibrium correction model," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 13786-13816, December.
    8. Yongliang Zhang & Md. Qamruzzaman & Salma Karim & Ishrat Jahan, 2021. "Nexus between Economic Policy Uncertainty and Renewable Energy Consumption in BRIC Nations: The Mediating Role of Foreign Direct Investment and Financial Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-29, August.
    9. Adewale Samuel Hassan, 2023. "Modeling the linkage between coal mining and ecological footprint in South Africa: does technological innovation matter?," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 36(1), pages 123-138, January.
    10. Solomon P. Nathaniel & Festus V. Bekun, 2020. "Electricity Consumption, Urbanization and Economic Growth in Nigeria: New Insights from Combined Cointegration amidst Structural Breaks," Research Africa Network Working Papers 20/013, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    11. Nathaniel, Solomon Prince & Yalçiner, Kürşat & Bekun, Festus Victor, 2021. "Assessing the environmental sustainability corridor: Linking natural resources, renewable energy, human capital, and ecological footprint in BRICS," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    12. Mary Oluwatoyin Agboola, 2021. "Female Labour Force Participation in Saudi Arabia and its Determinants," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 1, pages 135-152.
    13. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Mallick, Hrushikesh & Mahalik, Mantu Kumar & Sadorsky, Perry, 2016. "The role of globalization on the recent evolution of energy demand in India: Implications for sustainable development," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 52-68.
    14. Ahmed, Zahoor & Asghar, Muhammad Mansoor & Malik, Muhammad Nasir & Nawaz, Kishwar, 2020. "Moving towards a sustainable environment: The dynamic linkage between natural resources, human capital, urbanization, economic growth, and ecological footprint in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    15. Agboola, Mary Oluwatoyin, 2021. "Female Labour Force Participation in Saudi Arabia and its Determinants," Gospodarka Narodowa-The Polish Journal of Economics, Szkoła Główna Handlowa w Warszawie / SGH Warsaw School of Economics, vol. 2021(1), March.
    16. Debi P Bal & Badri N Rath, 2019. "Nonlinear causality between crude oil price and exchange rate: A comparative study of China and India - A Reassessment," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(1), pages 592-604.
    17. Muntasir Murshed & Mohamed Elheddad & Rizwan Ahmed & Mohga Bassim & Ei Thuzar Than, 2022. "Foreign Direct Investments, Renewable Electricity Output, and Ecological Footprints: Do Financial Globalization Facilitate Renewable Energy Transition and Environmental Welfare in Bangladesh?," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 29(1), pages 33-78, March.
    18. Ewodo-Amougou, Marcel Rodrigue & Sapnken, Flavian Emmanuel & Mfetoum, Inoussah Moungnutou & Tamba, Jean Gaston, 2023. "Analysis of the relationship between oil rent and crude oil production in Cameroon: Evidence from ARDL and NARDL models," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    19. Pata, Ugur Korkut & Caglar, Abdullah Emre, 2021. "Investigating the EKC hypothesis with renewable energy consumption, human capital, globalization and trade openness for China: Evidence from augmented ARDL approach with a structural break," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    20. Fay?al Chiad & Smail Moumeni & Amine Aoussi, 2022. "The joint effect of financial development and human capital on the ecological footprint: The Algerian case," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2022(1), pages 69-93.

    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:vrs:quageo:v:40:y:2021:i:2:p:63-76:n:8. 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: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.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.