Carbon reduction through renewable energy and digitalization in emerging economies: Moderating role of public debt.

Utilizing renewable energy (RE) and embracing the digital economy (DIG) can significantly contribute to achieving economic, energy, and climate goals by promoting carbon reduction. In this regard, public debt (DEB) is particularly important since it provides the funds required to achieve these goals by investing in renewable energy and digital economy projects. This study examines the impact of public debt on the link between renewable energy and carbon emissions (CE), as well as the association between the digital economy and carbon emissions in emerging economies from 2003 to 2022. The study employed cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) estimation to check the relationship between the variables. The findings of our study suggest that the integration of renewable energy sources and the growth of the digital economy have a positive impact on reducing carbon emissions. On the other hand, public debt has a positive effect on carbon emissions. In addition, the findings support the notion that interaction terms (RE × DEB) and (DIG × DEB) have a diminishing effect on carbon emissions. It can be concluded that the reduction of carbon emissions is contingent upon the utilization of public debt to promote the growth of renewable energy and the digital economy. Based on our study, it is recommended that emerging economies' needs focus on boosting renewable energy usage and digital economy initiatives. Additionally, it is necessary for these economies to maintain a sustainable level of debt.

BRICS and the climate challenge: navigating the role of factor productivity and institutional quality in CO2 emissions.

The BRICS countries are important contributors to global efforts aimed at preventing a climate catastrophe. These countries account for half of the total emissions generated by the G20 nations. In this context, this paper examines the relationship between total factor productivity (TFP) and CO2 emissions (CE) in BRICS countries from 1996 to 2022, with institutional quality serving as a moderating factor. Moreover, a diverse range of methodologies was employed to address the problem of cross-sectional dependence; i.e., the CS-ARDL technique is used to analyze the relationship between variables in both the long and short-run. The AMG and CCEMG methods are employed for robustness analysis, while the Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test is used to assess causality. Our empirical analysis demonstrates that TFP is positively associated with CE. Conversely, we find that institutional quality has a negative impact on CE. Furthermore, the study confirms that the interaction between TFP and institutional quality has a negative effect on CE. This implies that an improvement in institutional quality leads to a decrease in CE, as it strengthens the regulatory system governing CE and reduces pollution. Environmental policy must include economic flexibility and policy unpredictability in order to meet CO2 reduction targets. In addition, the study has identified bidirectional causal links between CE and variables such as TFP, institutional quality, and other control variables. According to our study, the BRICS countries should encourage digitalization and renewable energy production while preserving a reasonable standard of institutional quality since they have significant resource advantages in the renewable energy sector.

Air pollution and life expectancy: New evidence from the MINT economies.

Life expectancy (LEX) has gained relevance among health and environmental scholars due to the current upsurge in carbon emissions. As a result, this article examined the impact of economic development (ECD), air pollution (AIP), human capital (HUC), natural resources (NRR), and renewable energy consumption (REC) on LEX in the MINT countries. The DSK estimation approach was used to estimate the variables' long-term interaction. The following are the main empirical findings from the analysis. First, the research discovered a positive, significant, and favourable nexus between ECD, HUC, REC, and LEX. Second, AIP and NRR have a detrimental and significant impact on LEX. Third, the causation analysis revealed a one-way link between economic development, renewable energy consumption, and LEX. This empirical research gives policy-makers unique ideas on using human capital, renewable energy, and economic growth as strategic tools to promote life expectancy. Therefore, MINT nations must employ the appropriate strategies to boost economic growth, human capital and renewable energy to improve life expectancy. On the other hand, these countries should enhance natural resource utilization and reduce carbon emissions to achieve a longer lifespan.

Role of institutional quality in debt-growth relationship in Pakistan: An econometric inquiry.

This study attempts to investigate the mediating role of institutional quality on the relationship between public debt and economic growth in Pakistan spanning 1996-2020. Time series data on all six World Bank World Governance indicators of institutional quality is used in the empirical analysis. Findings of the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing technique and error correction method (ECM) confirmed the existence of cointegration among variables of interest. The short-run results indicate that public debt has a favorable association with economic growth, while the relationship is found to be detrimental in the long run. Furthermore, the combined effect of public debt and institutional quality indicators revealed the significant positive association with economic growth, suggesting that better institutional quality can contribute to mitigate the negative impact of public debt on economic growth in Pakistan.

Artificial neural network (ANN)-based estimation of the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on dynamic and emerging financial markets.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global issue destroying financial markets awfully. The proper estimation effect of COVID-19 pandemic on dynamic emerging financial markets is a big challenge due to a complex multidimensional data. However, the present study proposes a Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based multivariate regression approach with backpropagation algorithm and structural learning-based Bayesian network with constraint-based algorithm to investigate the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on the currency and derivatives markets of an emerging economy. The output shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively influenced the financial markets as indicated by sharply depreciating currency value around 10 % to 12 % and reducing short-position of futures derivatives around 3 % to 5 % for currency risk hedging. The robustness estimation shows that there have probabilistic distributed between Traded Futures Derivatives Contracts (TFDC), Currency Exchange Rate (CER), and Daily Covid Cases (DCC) and Daily Covid Deaths (DCD). Moreover, the output represents that the futures derivatives market conditionally depends on the currency market volatility given percentage of COVID-19 pandemic. This study may help to policymakers of financial markets in decision-making to control CER volatility that may promote currency market stability to enhance currency market activities and boost confidence of foreign investors in extreme financial crisis circumstances.

Optimizing foreign exchange reserves: Protection against external shocks in Ghana.

Using Least Square Residual Minimization techniques, this paper develops an optimal reserve model, known as the OPREM model, which is essential in optimizing the costs of reserve holding. The paper also sets-out to test and compare the relative predictions of economic trends of the OPREM model as well as the predictions of alternative models in literature. Establishing the predictive accuracy of economic trends of these models are crucial for the gradual and cost-effective accumulation of reserves. The research concludes that, the decision to optimize the cost of reserves under a stable currency environment is reliant on the gold impact factor and not on inflation or interest rates. We also found on further analysis of the OPREM that the OPREM model is better positioned to eliminate the procyclicality and perverse rush in reserve build-ups experienced in developing and emerging countries by effectively setting the reserve stock against economic trends. The research fixes the optimal reserves around a benchmark of 0.7-1.2 of previous year's optimal value. However, in the absence of past optimal values, a benchmark between 2 and 6 times of average inflows for short-term analysis or analysis with small data observations. However, for long-term analysis or analysis with large data frequency (i.e., exceeding 13 data observations), the reserve stock should be fixed on a benchmark of 2-9 times of the average inflows.

The nexus amid foreign direct investment, urbanization, and CO2 emissions: Evidence from energy grouping along the ECOWAS community.

The vision of every country or subregions is to achieve economic growth and sustainable economic growth. Thus, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as an economic cooperation renders interaction among 16 relevant countries to increase economic development. However, CO2 emissions as a result of economic growth are of great concern. Thus, this study delves into the determinants of CO2 emissions along the ECOWAS community, taking into consideration if countries are energy exporters or energy importers. The analytical procedure applied indicated the presence of heterogeneity in the slope coefficient and cross-sectional dependencies across the various panels. Applying the Westerlund bootstrap co-integration unveiled, the employed variables have a long-run equilibrium association. The results from the augmented mean group (AMG) revealed that the contribution weight (order of importance) to CO2 emissions varies across panel clusters. Finally, the causality results unveil a bidirectional causation in all panels between urbanization and CO2 emissions, whereas foreign direct investment and CO2 emissions have a bidirectional effect in energy importers and the main panel. These results obtained indicate that foreign direct investment, urbanization, energy consumption, trade openness, and gross domestic product are the determinants of CO2 emissions along the community. Based on the outcome, the suggested policy implications indicate that (a) the need for a paradigm shift from fossil fuel sources to renewables be encouraged in the community and (b) again, the awareness of spillover of economic growth and energy transition on CO2 emissions from foreign companies to local businesses must be promoted.

What initiates carbon dioxide emissions along the Belt and Road Initiative? An insight from a dynamic heterogeneous panel data analysis based on incarnated carbon panel.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as an economic cooperation, provides interaction between the relevant countries and China. This cooperation between the BRI economies is basically aimed at increasing economic development. However, economic cooperation affects humanity in many ways, such as job creation, economic growth, environmental changes, and changes in the consumption of energy. Among these changes, considerable attention has been drawn to CO2 emissions arising from economic growth and its related environmental changes. This attention is vital in order to achieve the UN sustainable development goal 13: urgent action to combat climate change and regulations for the emissions of CO2. Thus, this study explores the determinants of CO2 emissions along the BRI, taking into consideration if countries are net importers or exporters of incarnated carbon dioxide. The econometrics applied indicated the presence of slope heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependencies across the various panels. Applying the Westerlund bootstrap co-integration unveiled the presence of a long-run equilibrium association among the variables. The results from the dynamic common correlated estimator (DCCE) revealed that the contribution weight (order of importance) to CO2 emissions varies across panel clusters. The causality results unveiled a bidirectional causation in all panels between economic growth and CO2 emissions. Trade openness and CO2 emissions have a bidirectional effect in the belt and road and net exporters of incarnated carbon dioxide panels. Based on the results obtained, the policy implications suggested that (a) energy transition from fossil fuel usage to renewables will play a crucial role in mitigating economic growth's environmental pressures and (b) governments along the BRI could also implement subsidy swaps involving the transfer of government aid from oil and coal gas to renewable sources, including wind and solar.

Exploring the relationship between economic growth, energy consumption, urbanization, trade, and CO2 emissions: a PMG-ARDL panel data analysis on regional classification along 81 BRI economies.

The vision of every country or sub-regions is to achieve sustainable economic growth. The inability of individual countries to have a sole sustainable initiative has resulted in the establishment of economic cooperation such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which renders interaction among 138 relevant countries to increase economic development. This study delves into the determinants of economic growth along the BRI economic corridors, taking into consideration regional classification of the relevant countries. The analytical procedure applied indicated the presence of heterogeneity in the slope coefficient and cross-sectional dependencies across the various panels. Applying the Westerlund bootstrap co-integration test, it was deducted that the employed variables have a long-run equilibrium association. The results from the pooled mean group (PMG) revealed that the contribution weight (order of importance) of the explanatory variables to economic growth varies across the regional panel clusters. Finally, the causality results unveil that a bidirectional causation affiliation exists between energy consumption and economic growth in all panels except Southeast and South Asia which experience one-way directional effects from energy usage to economic growth. Trade and economic growth unveiled a bidirectional causal affiliation in all panel groups with exception of the Middle East and North Africa, where a one-way directional affiliation from trade to economic growth was felt. These results obtained indicate that energy consumption, urbanization, trade, and CO2 emissions are determinants of economic growth along the BRI route. Based on the outcome, the suggested policy implications include the following: (a) The government across each region could incorporate tax and other incentives to encourage entrepreneurs and citizens to produce equipment that reduces carbon intensity and is ecologically friendly. (b) The necessity for a paradigm shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources should be advocated among the countries involved.

Foreign aid and economic growth: Do energy consumption, trade openness and CO2 emissions matter? A DSUR heterogeneous evidence from Africa's trading blocs.

The paramount vision of every country or sub-regions is to attain economic growth and sustainable economic growth. The paradigm drift of studies into foreign aid and sustainable economic growth has shown conflicting results that play on researchers to fill the gap of knowledge void. The plurality of studies looked at economic growth and foreign aid in single countries. However, one of the major determinants of sustainable growth such as CO2 emissions and trade goes beyond the boundaries of a country. Deductively, grouped countries or sub-regional studies are needed to ascertain the heterogeneous relationship and cross-sectional dependency among panels grouping. We fill these gaps with the recent empirical methodology to unveil the impact of foreign aid, CO2 emissions, trade openness, and energy consumption on economic growth. Thus a percentage rise in foreign aid corresponds to different significant weights in all panel groupings with exception of Southern African Development Community, which unveiled a non-significant estimate. Whereas trade openness in all panel grouping indicated a significant weight on economic growth. An increase in CO2 emissions has a significant material effect on economic growth in Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Economic Community of West African States, and Community of Sahel-Saharan States. The impact of energy consumption on economic growth across the panel groupings was statistically significant with Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa having the highest weight impact. These results obtained in this study indicate that foreign aid, energy consumption, trade openness, and CO2 emissions are positively correlated with economic growth. Based on the finding, the significant of the policy implications suggested. (a) The need for a paradigm shift from fossil fuel sources to renewables is encouraged in the various trading blocs (b) The need to embrace carbon storage and capturing techniques to decouple pollutant emissions from economic growth on the continent's growth trajectory.

Investigation on the main contributors of economic growth in a dynamic heterogeneous panel data (DHPD) in Africa: evidence from their income classification.

In investigating the key contributors (electricity consumption, foreign direct investment, carbon dioxide emissions, and population) of economic growth in Africa, this study clustered the selected countries into their income levels spanning from 1990 to 2018. Applying the Westerlund bootstrap co-integration unveiled, the employed variables have a long-run equilibrium association. Estimates from the dynamic common corrected effects revealed that a 1% rise in electricity consumption increases economic growth by 0.187%, 0.040%, and 0.511% in upper middle income, lower middle income, and low middle income, respectively. The elasticity of carbon dioxide emissions to economic growth is high in low-income countries than in the other two groupings. In contrast, a percentage rise in foreign direct investment heightened economic growth by 0.919% and 0.154% in upper middle income and lower middle income. As the growth hypothesis was established among the panel groupings, it points out that a country's economy is energy dependent. Thus, a rise in electricity consumption in Africa will lead to a surge in economic growth since energy usage is a direct input into the manufacturing process and/or an indirect input that complements labor and capital inputs. However, its ripple effects of polluting the environment need not be overlooked. These findings imply that electricity usage and economic growth are highly corrected. These approaches consider cross-sectional reliance into consideration; thus, the empirical findings have drawn some significant policy implications.