IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v32y2024i3p2066-2084.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Preserving health, protecting economies: Mitigating the impact of forest fires on healthcare expenditure and environmental sustainability

Author

Listed:
  • Laxita Soontha
  • Mohammad Younus Bhat

Abstract

Forest fires release harmful pollutants, endangering public health and incurring substantial healthcare costs. This study empirically investigates the environment‐health‐economy relationship, utilizing a robust MM‐QR approach. Findings divulge that economic growth, urbanization, and tourism drive healthcare expenditure, while environmental factors like forest fires, resource depletion, species extinction, and environmental policy stringency also increase health spending. Conversely, renewable energy consumption lowers healthcare costs, while coal extraction raises them. Empirical estimates reveal that 1% increase in forest fires raises health spending by 0.03%−0.08%, socioeconomic indicators by 0.01%−1.07%, and environmental factors by 0.03%−3.74%. Conversely, a 1% rise in renewable energy usage cuts healthcare expenses by 0.06%−0.19%. This study underscores the urgency of addressing environmental degradation, especially forest fires, to mitigate their impacts on human well‐being.

Suggested Citation

  • Laxita Soontha & Mohammad Younus Bhat, 2024. "Preserving health, protecting economies: Mitigating the impact of forest fires on healthcare expenditure and environmental sustainability," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 2066-2084, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:32:y:2024:i:3:p:2066-2084
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2764
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2764
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.2764?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. Rabeh Khalfaoui & Aviral Kumar Tiwari & Usman Khalid & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2023. "Nexus between carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth in G7 countries: fresh insights via wavelet coherence analysis," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 66(1), pages 31-66, January.
    2. Mahmut Unsal Sasmaz & Aysun Karamıklı & Ulas Akkucuk, 2021. "The relationship between renewable energy use and health expenditures in EU countries," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(7), pages 1129-1139, September.
    3. Hashem Pesaran, M. & Yamagata, Takashi, 2008. "Testing slope homogeneity in large panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(1), pages 50-93, January.
    4. Zhang, Cuifang & Xiang, Xiandeng, 2023. "Fiscal decentralization, environmental policy stringency, and resource sustainability: Panacea or Pandora's box in high resource consuming countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Pesaran M.H. & Schuermann T. & Weiner S.M., 2004. "Modeling Regional Interdependencies Using a Global Error-Correcting Macroeconometric Model," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 22, pages 129-162, April.
    6. Krishna Paudel & Hector Zapata & Dwi Susanto, 2005. "An Empirical Test of Environmental Kuznets Curve for Water Pollution," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 31(3), pages 325-348, July.
    7. Mills, Julianne H. & Waite, Thomas A., 2009. "Economic prosperity, biodiversity conservation, and the environmental Kuznets curve," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 2087-2095, May.
    8. Baek, Jungho, 2015. "A panel cointegration analysis of CO2 emissions, nuclear energy and income in major nuclear generating countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 133-138.
    9. Cropper, Maureen & Griffiths, Charles, 1994. "The Interaction of Population Growth and Environmental Quality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 250-254, May.
    10. Galina Churkina & Alan Organschi & Christopher P. O. Reyer & Andrew Ruff & Kira Vinke & Zhu Liu & Barbara K. Reck & T. E. Graedel & Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, 2020. "Buildings as a global carbon sink," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(4), pages 269-276, April.
    11. Daoping Wang & Dabo Guan & Shupeng Zhu & Michael Mac Kinnon & Guannan Geng & Qiang Zhang & Heran Zheng & Tianyang Lei & Shuai Shao & Peng Gong & Steven J. Davis, 2021. "Economic footprint of California wildfires in 2018," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 4(3), pages 252-260, March.
    12. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    13. Kim, GwanSeon & Choi, Sun-Ki & Seok, Jun Ho, 2020. "Does biomass energy consumption reduce total energy CO2 emissions in the US?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 953-967.
    14. Apergis, Nicholas & Ben Jebli, Mehdi & Ben Youssef, Slim, 2018. "Does renewable energy consumption and health expenditures decrease carbon dioxide emissions? Evidence for sub-Saharan Africa countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 1011-1016.
    15. Awan, Ashar & Abbasi, Kashif Raza & Rej, Soumen & Bandyopadhyay, Arunava & Lv, Kangjuan, 2022. "The impact of renewable energy, internet use and foreign direct investment on carbon dioxide emissions: A method of moments quantile analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 454-466.
    16. Sofi, Arfat Ahmad & Bhat, Mohammad Younus & Ahmad, Laraib & Aara, Ruhi Refath & Aswani, RS, 2022. "Renewable energy and transitioning towards sustainable tourism: Inferences from kernel density and nonparametric approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 963-975.
    17. 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).
    18. Sinha, Avik & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Balsalobre, Daniel, 2017. "Exploring the Relationship between Energy Usage Segregation and Environmental Degradation in N-11 Countries," MPRA Paper 81212, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 07 Sep 2017.
    19. Irfan Ullah & Alam Rehman & Farman Ullah Khan & Muhammad Haroon Shah & Faridoon Khan, 2020. "Nexus between trade, CO2 emissions, renewable energy, and health expenditure in Pakistan," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 818-831, July.
    20. Muhammad Azam & Abdul Majid Awan, 2022. "Health is Wealth: A Dynamic SUR Approach of Examining a Link Between Climate Changes and Human Health Expenditures," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 505-528, September.
    21. Hamish Clarke & Rachael H. Nolan & Victor Resco Dios & Ross Bradstock & Anne Griebel & Shiva Khanal & Matthias M. Boer, 2022. "Forest fire threatens global carbon sinks and population centres under rising atmospheric water demand," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    22. Saba Salehi-Esfahani & Jorge Ridderstaat & Ahmet Bulent Ozturk, 2021. "Health tourism in a developed country with a dominant tourism market: the case of the United States’ travellers to Canada," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 536-553, February.
    23. Zhang, Qian & Wang, Rong & Tang, Decai & Boamah, Valentina, 2023. "The role and transmission mechanism of forest resource abundance on low-carbon economic development in the Yangtze River Delta region: Insights from the COP26 targets," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    24. AlNemer, Hashem A. & Hkiri, Besma & Tissaoui, Kais, 2023. "Dynamic impact of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on CO2 emission and economic growth in Saudi Arabia: Fresh evidence from wavelet coherence analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 340-356.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Rej, Soumen & Awan, Ashar & Bandyopadhyay, Arunava & Islam, Md Sayemul & Das, Narasingha & Hossain, Md Emran, 2023. "Natural resource dependency and environmental sustainability under N-shaped EKC: The curious case of India," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    2. Zhang, Zhenhua & Zhang, Yunpeng & Zhao, Mingcheng & Muttarak, Raya & Feng, Yanchao, 2023. "What is the global causality among renewable energy consumption, financial development, and public health? New perspective of mineral energy substitution," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    3. Minjing Yang & Cosimo Magazzino & Abraham Ayobamiji Awosusi & Navzodbek Abdulloev, 2024. "Determinants of Load capacity factor in BRICS countries: A panel data analysis," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(2), pages 525-548, May.
    4. Usman Mehmood & Salman Tariq & Zia ul Haq & Ephraim Bonah Agyekum & Solomon Eghosa Uhunamure & Karabo Shale & Hasan Nawaz & Shafqat Ali & Ammar Hameed, 2022. "Financial Institutional and Market Deepening, and Environmental Quality Nexus: A Case Study in G-11 Economies Using CS-ARDL," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-19, September.
    5. Pablo-Romero, María P. & Sánchez-Braza, Antonio & Gil-Pérez, Jesús, 2023. "Is deforestation needed for growth? Testing the EKC hypothesis for Latin America," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    6. Pata, Ugur Korkut & Aydin, Mucahit & Haouas, Ilham, 2021. "Are natural resources abundance and human development a solution for environmental pressure? Evidence from top ten countries with the largest ecological footprint," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    7. Shobande, Olatunji A. & Asongu, Simplice A., 2022. "The Critical Role of Education and ICT in Promoting Environmental Sustainability in Eastern and Southern Africa: A Panel VAR Approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    8. Juan Pablo Vallejo Mata & María Gabriela González Bautista & Luis Eduardo Solis Granda & Eduardo Germán Zurita Moreano, 2024. "Evaluating the Environmental Kuznets Curve: The Role of Renewable Energy, Economic Growth, Urban Density and Trade Openness on CO2 Emissions. An Analysis for High-Income Countries Using the CS-ARDL Mo," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(6), pages 580-596, November.
    9. Mahmut Unsal Sasmaz & Aysun Karamıklı & Ulas Akkucuk, 2021. "The relationship between renewable energy use and health expenditures in EU countries," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(7), pages 1129-1139, September.
    10. Lunku, Hassan Swedy & Li, Zaiyang & Yang, Shaohua & Shayo, Amani & Ngoma, Jonathan Bakadila, 2024. "The dynamics of deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa: The impact of environmental policy and foreign direct investment on forest conversion," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    11. Lin, Chen, 2024. "Asymmetric effects of digitalization, natural resources, capital formation, and green innovations on environmental sustainability in ASEAN countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    12. Ding, Yuanyi, 2023. "Does natural resources cause sustainable financial development or resources curse? Evidence from group of seven economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    13. Karaaslan, Abdulkerim & Çamkaya, Serhat, 2022. "The relationship between CO2 emissions, economic growth, health expenditure, and renewable and non-renewable energy consumption: Empirical evidence from Turkey," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 457-466.
    14. Usman Mehmood & Salman Tariq & Zia Ul-Haq & Ephraim Bonah Agyekum & Salah Kamel & Mohamed Elnaggar & Hasan Nawaz & Ammar Hameed & Shafqat Ali, 2022. "Can Financial Institutional Deepening and Renewable Energy Consumption Lower CO 2 Emissions in G-10 Countries: Fresh Evidence from Advanced Methodologies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-18, May.
    15. Appiah, Michael & Li, Mingxing & Sehrish, Saba & Abaji, Emad Eddin, 2023. "Investigating the connections between innovation, natural resource extraction, and environmental pollution in OECD nations; examining the role of capital formation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    16. Bi Goli Jean Jacques Iritie, 2015. "Economic Growth and Biodiversity: An Overview Conservation Policies in Africa," Journal of Sustainable Development, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(2), pages 196-196, February.
    17. Kangyin Dong & Xiucheng Dong & Qingzhe Jiang, 2020. "How renewable energy consumption lower global CO2 emissions? Evidence from countries with different income levels," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1665-1698, June.
    18. Solomon Hsiang & Paulina Oliva & Reed Walker, 2019. "The Distribution of Environmental Damages," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 13(1), pages 83-103.
    19. Tiwari, Sunil & Mentel, Grzegorz & Si Mohammed, Kamel & Rehman, Mohd Ziaur & Lewandowska, Anna, 2024. "Unveiling the role of natural resources, energy transition and environmental policy stringency for sustainable environmental development: Evidence from BRIC +1," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    20. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Nwani, Chinazaekpere & Bekun, Festus Victor & Gyamfi, Bright Akwasi & Agozie, Divine Q., 2022. "Discerning the role of renewable energy and energy efficiency in finding the path to cleaner consumption and production patterns: New insights from developing economies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).

    More about this item

    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:wly:sustdv:v:32:y:2024:i:3:p:2066-2084. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    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.