Modeling the long-term relationship between transportation, economic growth, poverty and environmental degradation in Tunisia

The transportation sector plays a crucial role in driving economic development, reducing poverty, and contributing significantly to environmental impacts. While there have been numerous studies exploring the interconnections among transportation, economic development, and environmental degradation, there hasn’t been extensive research on how poverty affects transport-related CO2 emissions in the Tunisian context. This study aims to address this gap by analyzing the complex relationship between poverty, economic growth, energy consumption in road transport, urbanization, trade openness, road infrastructure, and environmental degradation in the Tunisia's transportation sector from 1980 to 2020. To estimate the long-term relationship between these variables, we use the ARDL bounds test approach. The result of VECM Granger causality test indicates a feedback between road infrastructure, road energy consumption, and transport emissions in both the short and long term. Moreover, our study identifies a bidirectional causality between poverty and transport emissions, emphasizing the importance of poverty alleviation strategies that consider environmental consequences. Our research also reveals a feedback between poverty and road transport infrastructure, as well as between transport emissions and economic growth. These results provide a comprehensive overview of the factors influencing CO2 emissions in the transport sector and their relationship with poverty. They offer a valuable insight to the field of energy and environmental studies, serving as guidance to policymakers, researchers, and practitioners engaged in promoting sustainable transportation practices in Tunisia.