IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp17900.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Green Path: FDI’s Influence on Asia’s Sustainable Economic Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Le Ngoc, Anh

    (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City)

  • Heshmati, Almas

    (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City)

Abstract

This study examines the dual impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on sustainable economic growth in Asia, focusing on its effects on Green GDP, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Using data from 38 Asian countries spanning 1999 to 2022 and employing a two-step GMM regression analysis, the findings reveal that while FDI positively influences Green GDP growth, it concurrently exacerbates GHG emissions and reduces EPI scores. These results underscore the paradoxical role of FDI in fostering economic growth while posing environmental challenges. The study highlights the importance of robust environmental policies, investment in green technologies, and regional cooperation to align FDI with sustainability goals. It also emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to leverage FDI's economic benefits without compromising environmental integrity. This research contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive analysis of FDI's environmental and economic implications in the Asian context, offering policy recommendations for achieving sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Le Ngoc, Anh & Heshmati, Almas, 2025. "The Green Path: FDI’s Influence on Asia’s Sustainable Economic Growth," IZA Discussion Papers 17900, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17900
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp17900.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-1037, October.
    2. Hamilton, Kirk & Clemens, Michael, 1999. "Genuine Savings Rates in Developing Countries," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 13(2), pages 333-356, May.
    3. Dam, Lammertjan & Scholtens, Bert, 2008. "Environmental regulation and MNEs location: Does CSR matter?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 55-65, August.
    4. Hausman, Jerry A & Taylor, William E, 1981. "Panel Data and Unobservable Individual Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1377-1398, November.
    5. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    6. Jungho Baek & Won W. Koo, 2009. "A Dynamic Approach to the FDI-Environment Nexus: The Case of China and India," East Asian Economic Review, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, vol. 13(2), pages 87-106.
    7. Keisuke Kawata & Yasunori Ouchida, 2013. "Offshoring, trade and environmental policies: Effects of transboundary pollution," IDEC DP2 Series 3-8, Hiroshima University, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation (IDEC).
    8. Gene M. Grossman & Alan B. Krueger, 1995. "Economic Growth and the Environment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(2), pages 353-377.
    9. Kaika, Dimitra & Zervas, Efthimios, 2013. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) theory—Part A: Concept, causes and the CO2 emissions case," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1392-1402.
    10. Charfeddine, Lanouar & Kahia, Montassar, 2019. "Impact of renewable energy consumption and financial development on CO2 emissions and economic growth in the MENA region: A panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 198-213.
    11. Acheampong, Alex O. & Appiah-Otoo, Isaac & Dzator, Janet & Agyemang, Kwabena Koforobour, 2021. "Remittances, financial development and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for post-COVID-19 macroeconomic policies," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(6), pages 1365-1387.
    12. Kaika, Dimitra & Zervas, Efthimios, 2013. "The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theory. Part B: Critical issues," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1403-1411.
    13. Thanh Quang Phung & Ehsan Rasoulinezhad & Hang Luong Thi Thu, 2023. "How are FDI and green recovery related in Southeast Asian economies?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 3735-3755, December.
    14. Anna Strutt & Kym Anderson, 2000. "Will Trade Liberalization Harm the Environment? The Case of Indonesia to 2020," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 17(3), pages 203-232, November.
    15. Bassem Kahouli & Anis Omri & Anissa Chaibi, 2014. "Environmental Regulations, Trade, and Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from Gravity Equations," Working Papers 2014-189, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    16. 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.
    17. Apergis, Nicholas & Payne, James E., 2010. "Energy consumption and growth in South America: Evidence from a panel error correction model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1421-1426, November.
    18. Ofori, Isaac K. & Gbolonyo, Emmanuel Y. & Ojong, Nathanael, 2023. "Foreign direct investment and inclusive green growth in Africa: Energy efficiency contingencies and thresholds," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    19. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Mehdi Feizi & Hassan F. Gholipour, 2021. "Drought and Property Prices: Empirical Evidence from Provinces of Iran," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 203-221, July.
    20. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Nasreen, Samia & Abbas, Faisal & Anis, Omri, 2015. "Does foreign direct investment impede environmental quality in high-, middle-, and low-income countries?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 275-287.
    21. Eric Evans Osei Opoku & Muazu Ibrahim & Yakubu Awudu Sare, 2019. "Foreign Direct Investment, Sectoral Effects and Economic Growth in Africa," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 473-492, July.
    22. Esfandiar Maasoumi & Almas Heshmati & Inhee Lee, 2021. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Green innovations and patenting renewable energy technologies," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 513-538, January.
    23. Lipsey, Robert E. & Sjoholm, Fredrik, 2004. "Foreign direct investment, education and wages in Indonesian manufacturing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 415-422, February.
    24. Paramati, Sudharshan Reddy & Sinha, Avik & Dogan, Eyup, 2017. "The significance of renewable energy use for economic output and environmental protection: Evidence from the next 11 developing economies," MPRA Paper 100087, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    25. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Gozgor, Giray & Adom, Philip Kofi & Hammoudeh, Shawkat, 2019. "The technical decomposition of carbon emissions and the concerns about FDI and trade openness effects in the United States," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 56-73.
    26. Chung, Sunghoon, 2014. "Environmental regulation and foreign direct investment: Evidence from South Korea," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 222-236.
    27. Laura Alfaro, 2017. "Gains from Foreign Direct Investment: Macro and Micro Approaches," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 30(Supplemen), pages 2-15.
    28. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    29. Doytch, Nadia & Uctum, Merih, 2016. "Globalization and the environmental impact of sectoral FDI," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 582-594.
    30. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    31. Apergis, Nicholas & Payne, James E., 2010. "Renewable energy consumption and growth in Eurasia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1392-1397, November.
    32. Sadorsky, Perry, 2009. "Renewable energy consumption and income in emerging economies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 4021-4028, October.
    33. Lyubov Tsoy & Almas Heshmati, 2024. "Is FDI inflow bad for environmental sustainability?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 28843-28858, November.
    34. Qaisar Shahzad & Kentaka Aruga, 2023. "Does the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hold for Coal Consumption? Evidence from South and East Asian Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-17, March.
    35. Badi H. Baltagi, 2008. "Forecasting with panel data," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 153-173.
    36. Apergis, Nicholas & Payne, James E., 2010. "Renewable energy consumption and economic growth: Evidence from a panel of OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 656-660, January.
    37. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    38. Stephen S. Golub & Céline Kauffmann & Philip Yeres, 2011. "Defining and Measuring Green FDI: An Exploratory Review of Existing Work and Evidence," OECD Working Papers on International Investment 2011/2, OECD Publishing.
    39. Ulrich Wagner & Christopher Timmins, 2009. "Agglomeration Effects in Foreign Direct Investment and the Pollution Haven Hypothesis," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 43(2), pages 231-256, June.
    40. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2007. "Finance, inequality and the poor," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 27-49, March.
    41. Mehdi Ben Jebli & Slim Ben Youssef & Nicholas Apergis, 2019. "The dynamic linkage between renewable energy, tourism, CO2 emissions, economic growth, foreign direct investment, and trade," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-19, December.
    42. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Solarin, Sakiru Adebola & Mahmood, Haider & Arouri, Mohamed, 2013. "Does financial development reduce CO2 emissions in Malaysian economy? A time series analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 145-152.
    43. Matthew Cole & Robert Elliott & Toshihiro Okubo, 2014. "International environmental outsourcing," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 150(4), pages 639-664, November.
    44. Maiti, Moinak, 2022. "Does improvement in green growth influence the development of environmental related technology?," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 1(2).
    45. Wu, Haitao & Hao, Yu & Ren, Siyu & Yang, Xiaodong & Xie, Guo, 2021. "Does internet development improve green total factor energy efficiency? Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    46. Pegkas, Panagiotis, 2015. "The impact of FDI on economic growth in Eurozone countries," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 124-132.
    47. World Bank, 2012. "Inclusive Green Growth : The Pathway to Sustainable Development," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6058, April.
    48. Windmeijer, Frank, 2005. "A finite sample correction for the variance of linear efficient two-step GMM estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 25-51, May.
    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. Ofori, Isaac K. & Gbolonyo, Emmanuel Y. & Ojong, Nathanael, 2022. "Foreign Direct Investment and Inclusive Green Growth in Africa: Energy Efficiency Contingencies and Thresholds," MPRA Paper 115379, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 09 Nov 2022.
    2. Ofori, Isaac K. & Gbolonyo, Emmanuel Y. & Ojong, Nathanael, 2023. "Foreign direct investment and inclusive green growth in Africa: Energy efficiency contingencies and thresholds," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    3. Isaac K. Ofori & Emmanuel Y. Gbolonyo & Nathanael Ojong, 2022. "Foreign Direct Investment and Inclusive Green Growth in Africa: Energy Efficiency Contingencies and Thresholds," Working Papers 22/089, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    4. Isaac K. Ofori & Emmanuel Y. Gbolonyo & Nathanael Ojong, 2022. "Foreign Direct Investment and Inclusive Green Growth in Africa: Energy Efficiency Contingencies and Thresholds," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 22/089, African Governance and Development Institute..
    5. Ofori, Isaac K & Gbolonyo, Emmanuel Y. & Ojong, Nathanael, 2022. "Foreign Direct Investment and Inclusive Green Growth in Africa: Energy Efficiency Contingencies and Thresholds," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 1-58.
    6. Ofori, Isaac K. & Freytag, Andreas & Asongu, Simplice A., 2024. "Economic globalisation and Africa's quest for greener and more inclusive growth: The missing link," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    7. Ofori, Isaac K. & Figari, Francesco, 2022. "Economic Globalisation and Inclusive Green Growth in Africa: Contingencies and Policy-Relevant Thresholds of Governance," MPRA Paper 114377, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Ofori, Isaac K. & Figari, Francesco, 2022. "Economic Globalisation and Inclusive Green Growth in Africa: Contingencies and Policy-Relevant Thresholds of Governance," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Forthcomi, pages 1-1.
    9. Arminen, Heli & Menegaki, Angeliki N., 2019. "Corruption, climate and the energy-environment-growth nexus," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 621-634.
    10. Müzeyyen Merve Şerifoğlu & Pelin Öge Güney, 2025. "Is the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis still valid for OECD countries? A comprehensive analysis across multiple sources," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 547-573, February.
    11. Oğuz Saygın & Ömer İskenderoğlu, 2022. "Does the level of financial development affect renewable energy? Evidence from developed countries with system generalized method of moments (System‐GMM) and cross‐sectionally augmented autoregressive," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 1326-1342, October.
    12. Liobikienė, Genovaitė & Butkus, Mindaugas, 2017. "Environmental Kuznets Curve of greenhouse gas emissions including technological progress and substitution effects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 237-248.
    13. Isaac K. Ofori & Francesco Figari, 2022. "Economic Globalisation and Inclusive Green Growth in Africa: Contingencies and Policy-Relevant Thresholds of Governance," Working Papers 22/053, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    14. Demir, Caner & Cergibozan, Raif, 2020. "Does alternative energy usage converge across Oecd countries?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 559-567.
    15. Isaac K. Ofori & Francesco Figari, 2022. "Economic Globalisation and Inclusive Green Growth in Africa: Contingencies and Policy-Relevant Thresholds of Governance," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 22/053, African Governance and Development Institute..
    16. Doytch, Nadia & Elheddad, Mohamed & Perez-Sebastian, Fidel, 2025. "New climate policy, resource abundance, and sectoral FDI," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    17. Jeffrey Kouton, 2021. "The impact of renewable energy consumption on inclusive growth: panel data analysis in 44 African countries," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 145-170, February.
    18. Mohamed Boly, 2018. "CO 2 mitigation in developing countries: the role of foreign aid," Working Papers halshs-01740881, HAL.
    19. Rafiou Raphaël Bétila, 2021. "The impact of Ease of Doing Business on economic growth: a dynamic panel analysis for African countries," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(10), pages 1-34, October.
    20. Liu, Yiming & Hao, Yu & Gao, Yixuan, 2017. "The environmental consequences of domestic and foreign investment: Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 271-280.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F20 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - General
    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:iza:izadps:dp17900. 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: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    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.