The dynamic analysis of the impact of economic globalization and environmental quality on poverty level: an empirical study for West African countries

This paper examines the relationship between economic globalisation and environmental quality on the West African Countries poverty level from 1990 to 2021. The Feasible Generalised Least Square (FGLS) estimator was applied for empirical enquiry. The findings indicate that globalisation reduces carbon dioxide emissions and poverty, while trade globalisation significantly reduces poverty. Population growth also contributes to environmental degradation, while human capital reduces environmental degradation. Moreover, environmental degradation, urbanization, and human capital significantly reduce poverty in the sub-region. Higher CO2 and N2O emissions show strong negative associations with poverty, possibly reflecting emission-intensive currently driving economic activity. There is also an inverted U-shaped link between economic growth and environmental degradation indicators. Finally, the policy recommendation suggests that the region regulates the removal of barriers to trade for the globalisation process because it exacerbates income inequality and resource depletion in the region and uses environmental-friendly fertilisers in the production value chain.This study shows how economic globalisation and environmental quality together influence poverty in West Africa from 1990 to 2021. The results indicate that globalisation, especially through trade globalisation, helps reduce poverty while human capital improvements support better environmental outcomes. The findings also reveal that emission-intensive activities still play a key role in income generation, which explains why CO2 and N2O emissions are negatively linked to poverty. Finally, the study confirms an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation, highlighting the need for policies that promote clean technologies, regulated trade liberalisation, and environmentally friendly production to achieve both poverty reduction and sustainability.