Environmental Performance and Economic Growth in Middle East and North Africa Countries

Abstract

Background.Studies on environmental performance/quality and economic growth show inconclusive results.Objective.The aim of the present study is to assess the non-linear relationship between environmental performance and economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from 2002–2018.Methods.A sample of fourteen (14) MENA countries was used in the present analysis. However, due to important differences between countries in this region, the whole sample was divided into two sub-samples; nine Middle Eastern countries (MEAS) and five North African countries (NAF). We performed the panel smooth transition regression model as an econometric approach.Discussion.Empirical results indicate a threshold effect in the environmental performance and economic growth relationship. The threshold value differs from one group of countries to another. More specifically, we found that the impact of environmental performance and economic growth is positive and significant only if a certain threshold level has been attained. Until then, the effect remains negative.Conclusions.The findings of the present study are of great importance for policymakers since they determine the optimal level of environmental performance required to act positively on the level of economic growth. MENA countries should seek to improve their environmental performance index in order to grow output.Competing Interests.The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Factors of national environmental performance in sustainability management aspect

“…Cross-country comparisons were used on the individual determinants of environmental performance. First, it concerns the impact of corruption (Sekrafi & Sghaier, 2018), development of democracy (Winslow, 2005;Fredriksson & Neumayer, 2013), public governance (Handoyo & Fitriyah, 2019;Basrija & Handoyo, 2019), and the GDP (Dinda, 2004;Dkhili, 2019;Gorham et al, 2019). It was found that corruption is strongly associated with high emissions of CO2 and environmental degradation.…”

“…The empirical studies of the relationship between environmental performance and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) have shown inconsistent results. Іt is often argued that the relationship between the GDP and environmental performance is described by the Environmental Kuznets Curve (Gozgor, 2017;Irdhad & Hussain, 2017;Dkhili, 2019). It has an inverted U-shape, which means environmental degradation with an increase in GDP at an early stage of economic development and a reversal of the trend after reaching a certain threshold.…”

Foreign Direct Investment and Environmental Degradation in Developing Countries: Does the Quality of Institutions Matter?

“…Managing a balance between ensuring the growth and development of a nation and the maintenance of the environment to ensure a balanced ecosystem is an issue most economies have to grapple with. Environmental sustainability refers to the long-term preservation of valuable natural resources within a developing human context (Dkhili, 2019). While sustainability is a characteristic of dynamic systems that self-maintain over time, it is not a predefined endpoint.…”