IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i18p11623-d916430.html

Dynamic Influence of Urbanization on Inclusive Green Growth in Belt and Road Countries: The Moderating Role of Governance

Author

Listed:
  • Na Wang

    (School of Law, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 610074, China)

  • Atta Ullah

    (School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Xiaofeng Lin

    (Koguan School of Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China)

  • Taiming Zhang

    (Finance Department, Business School, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, UK)

  • Jie Mao

    (School of Public Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 610074, China)

Abstract

The strategic objective of this study was to determine the influence of urbanization on inclusive green growth (IGG) with the moderating impact of governance while considering household consumption, exchange rate, per capita income, and the unemployment rate as control variables. The data set consisted of the years 2004–2019 for 64 countries along the Belt and Road (BRI) region. The outcomes of the two-step system of generalized method of moments (GMM) robust with D-K regression methodology confirmed the significantly positive dynamic nature of inclusive green growth. Urbanization showed a significant but negative influence on inclusive green growth, indicating environmental degradation due to unplanned urban growth. The moderating role of governance also depicted a significant negative impact, emphasizing the need for a transparent governance framework for BRI countries to utilize resources effectively. Moreover, the interaction term of urbanization and governance showed a significantly positive improvement toward inclusive green growth. Besides this, per capita income played a significantly positive role, while unemployment and household consumption had a negative but significant influence on inclusive green growth. Further, the exchange rate impacted insignificantly on inclusive green growth. Hence, it is evident that urbanization, good governance, and employment opportunities are required to promote sustainable green growth in BRI countries. The research identifies the factors that are required for sustainability/IGG.

Suggested Citation

  • Na Wang & Atta Ullah & Xiaofeng Lin & Taiming Zhang & Jie Mao, 2022. "Dynamic Influence of Urbanization on Inclusive Green Growth in Belt and Road Countries: The Moderating Role of Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-18, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11623-:d:916430
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11623/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11623/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Atta Ullah & Chen Pinglu & Saif Ullah & Shujahat Haider Hashmi, 2021. "Nexus of regional integration, socioeconomic determinants and sustainable development in belt and road initiative countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(7), pages 1-29, July.
    2. Atta Ullah & Zhao Kui & Saif Ullah & Chen Pinglu & Saba Khan, 2021. "Sustainable Utilization of Financial and Institutional Resources in Reducing Income Inequality and Poverty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-25, January.
    3. Meng Li & Yifan Zhang & Ziyu Fan & Hao Chen, 2021. "Evaluation and Research on the Level of Inclusive Green Growth in Asia-Pacific Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-30, July.
    4. Danish & Recep Ulucak, 2020. "The pathway toward pollution mitigation: Does institutional quality make a difference?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3571-3583, December.
    5. Ullah, Atta & Pinglu, Chen & Ullah, Saif & Qaisar, Zahid Hussain & Qian, Ningyu, 2022. "The dynamic nexus of E-Government, and sustainable development: Moderating role of multi-dimensional regional integration index in Belt and Road partner countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Stoever, Jana, 2012. "On comprehensive wealth, institutional quality and sustainable development-quantifying the effect of institutional quality on sustainability," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 794-801.
    7. Xiaodong Xu & Hafiz Syed Mohsin Abbas & Chunxia Sun & Samreen Gillani & Atta Ullah & Muhammad Ahsan Ali Raza, 2021. "Impact of globalization and governance determinants on economic growth: An empirical analysis of Asian economies," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 1137-1154, June.
    8. John C. Driscoll & Aart C. Kraay, 1998. "Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimation With Spatially Dependent Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 549-560, November.
    9. Yingshi Shang & Shuguang Liu, 2021. "Spatial-Temporal Coupling Coordination Relationship between Urbanization and Green Development in the Coastal Cities of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, May.
    10. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    11. Hala Hjazeen & Mehdi Seraj & Huseyin Ozdeser, 2021. "The nexus between the economic growth and unemployment in Jordan," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-8, December.
    12. Bekhet, Hussain Ali & Latif, Nurul Wahilah Abdul, 2018. "The impact of technological innovation and governance institution quality on Malaysia's sustainable growth: Evidence from a dynamic relationship," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 27-40.
    13. Mohamed Ariff & Alireza Zarei, 2018. "Sustainable Development and Currency Exchange Rate Behavior," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 17(3), pages 148-173, Fall.
    14. Daniel MEYER & T MASEHLA & Sebastian KOT, 2017. "The Relationship between Economic Growth and Economic Development A Regional Assessment in South Africa," Journal of Advanced Research in Law and Economics, ASERS Publishing, vol. 8(4(26)), pages 1377-1385.
    15. Faisal Mahmood & Dongping Han & Nazakat Ali & Riaqa Mubeen & Umeair Shahzad, 2019. "Moderating Effects of Firm Size and Leverage on the Working Capital Finance–Profitability Relationship: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-14, April.
    16. Margit Molnar & Thomas Chalaux & Qiang Ren, 2017. "Urbanisation and household consumption in China," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1434, OECD Publishing.
    17. Liu, Xuyi & Kong, Hao & Zhang, Shun, 2021. "Can urbanization, renewable energy, and economic growth make environment more eco-friendly in Northeast Asia?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 23-33.
    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. Abbas, Hafiz Syed Mohsin & Xu, Xiaodong & Sun, Chunxia, 2023. "Dynamics of group grievances from a global cohesion perspective," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 87(PB).
    2. Baitong Li & Jian Li & Chen Liu & Xinyan Yao & Jingxuan Dong & Meijun Xia, 2023. "Provincial Inclusive Green Growth Efficiency in China: Spatial Correlation Network Investigation and Its Influence Factors," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-24, March.
    3. Minghua Chen & Tengwen Zhang & Qinru Chu & Linxiao Xie & Jianxu Liu & Roengchai Tansuchat & You Geng, 2023. "Convergence Analysis of Inclusive Green Growth in China Based on the Spatial Correlation Network," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Ullah, Saif & Nobanee, Haitham & Iftikhar, Huma, 2023. "Global financial integration, governance-by-technology, and green growth," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    5. Congxian He & Bingze Song & Ruiqing Shi & Rumeng Rao, 2025. "Spatiotemporal Disparities in Inclusive Green Growth in Less Developed Regions: A Study on Old Revolutionary Base Areas in China," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, October.
    6. Waheed Ahmad & Rukhsana Kalim, 2024. "Analyzing Digital Economy¡¯s Role in Global Green Growth Opportunities: An Asymmetric MMQR Approach," Journal of Economic Sciences, Federal Urdu University Islamabad, Department of Economics, vol. 3(2), pages 162-180, December.
    7. Rubio Jesús Hernández & Gómez Emilio Galdeano & Barranco Maria del Carmen García & Mesa Juan Carlos Pérez, 2025. "The Food Safety Level in the European Union Underpinned by the Performance of the Private Companies," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 16(2), pages 325-343.
    8. Abdulraqeb, Omar Ahmed & Erbao, Cao & Aloqab, Abdullah & Naji, Hamdi, 2025. "The dynamic influence of green technology and environmental taxes on consumption-based carbon emissions in Brazil," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1595-1612.
    9. Hafiz Syed Mohsin Abbas & Xiaodong Xu, 2024. "Multiethnic integration: A path toward achieving sustainable development from the global perspective," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 5781-5796, October.

    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. Sainan Zhao & Yichao Zhang & Huma Iftikhar & Atta Ullah & Jie Mao & Tiantian Wang, 2022. "Dynamic Influence of Digital and Technological Advancement on Sustainable Economic Growth in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Ullah, Saif & Nobanee, Haitham & Iftikhar, Huma, 2023. "Global financial integration, governance-by-technology, and green growth," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Ullah, Atta & Pinglu, Chen & Ullah, Saif & Qaisar, Zahid Hussain & Qian, Ningyu, 2022. "The dynamic nexus of E-Government, and sustainable development: Moderating role of multi-dimensional regional integration index in Belt and Road partner countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    4. Ullah, Atta & Nobanee, Haitham & Ullah, Saif & Iftikhar, Huma, 2024. "Renewable energy transition and regional integration: Energizing the pathway to sustainable development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    5. Muhammad Ahsan Ali Raza & Chen Yan & Hafiz Syed Mohsin Abbas & Sara Ilahi, 2024. "Do Remittance Inflows, Investment Attributes, and Regional Integration Accelerate Sustainable Economic Growth in Asia?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 1302-1317, March.
    6. Hafiz Syed Mohsin Abbas & Sadia Abbas & Samreen Gillani & Xiaodong Xu, 2025. "Role of Digital-Government, Regional Integration, and Government Expenditures on Public Health Services in Selected Asian Economies," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 1201-1225, July.
    7. Olaoye, Olumide O. & Zerihun, Mulatu F. & Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh, 2025. "Is resource endowment a trigger for conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa? Unveiling the moderating role of income inequality," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    8. Protap Kumar Ghosh & Fakarudin Kamarudin & Saira Kharuddin, 2026. "Country’s regulatory system and non-performing loans: moderating effect of country’s income level," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 1-27, April.
    9. Augustin Chola Kazembe & Martin Kazembe Shula & Gilbert Michel Lwanga Kapwaye & Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa & Arsene Mouongue Kelly, 2026. "Leveraging remittances for economic diversification: empirical insights from sub-Saharan Africa," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-21, December.
    10. Dilla, Diana, 2017. "Staatsverschuldung und Verschuldungsmentalität [Public Debt and Debt Mentality]," MPRA Paper 79432, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Renhan Guo & Ghulam Rasool Madni, 2024. "Encirclement of productive capacities and institutions in context of sustainable development," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, March.
    12. Nara Monkam & Charles Shaaba Saba, 2025. "Fiscal Autonomy and the Path to Sustainable Local Economic Development: A Multilevel Municipal Analysis in South Africa," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 7336-7362, October.
    13. Furkan Demirtaş & Emine Kaya & Festus Victor Bekun & Mücahit Çitil & Mustafa Torusdağ & Abdulkadir Barut, 2025. "Do institutional quality and military expenditure of G20 countries affect green investments?," Energy & Environment, , vol. 36(6), pages 2639-2664, September.
    14. Li Chen & Stéphane Mbiankeu Nguea, 2025. "Natural Resource Protection: A Path to Human Development in Africa," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 6604-6619, October.
    15. Prianto Budi Saptono & Gustofan Mahmud & Intan Pratiwi & Dwi Purwanto & Ismail Khozen & Lambang Wiji Imantoro & Maria Eurelia Wayan, 2024. "Book-Tax Differences during the Crisis: Does Corporate Social Responsibility Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-38, August.
    16. Borice Augustin Ngounou & Honoré Tekam Oumbe & Bruno Emmanuel Ongo Nkoa & Edmond Noubissi Domguia, 2024. "Inclusive growth in the face of increasing urbanization: What experience for African countries?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 34-70, February.
    17. Hazwan Haini & Lutfi Abdul Razak & Pang Wei Loon & Sufrizul Husseini, 2023. "Re-examining the finance–institutions–growth nexus: does financial integration matter?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1895-1924, June.
    18. Bangake, Chrysost & Avom, Désiré & Pondie, Thierry Messie, 2025. "Exploring the links between energy poverty and international migration: Evidence from developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    19. Martin Hodula & Ngoc Anh Ngo, 2021. "Does Macroprudential Policy Leak? Evidence from Non-Bank Credit Intermediation in EU Countries," Working Papers 2021/5, Czech National Bank, Research and Statistics Department.
    20. Ms. Juliana Dutra Araujo & Mr. Antonio David & Carlos van Hombeeck & Mr. Chris Papageorgiou, 2015. "Joining the Club? Procyclicality of Private Capital Inflows in Low Income Developing Countries," IMF Working Papers 2015/163, International Monetary Fund.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11623-:d:916430. 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 The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (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.