The Role of Education in Moderating the Impact of Development on Environmental Sustainability in OECD Countries

Abstract

This study explores the interconnections among industrialization, urbanization, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and CO2 emissions (CO2e) across 31 OECD countries. In addition, it analyzes how education moderates these relationships. This study employs CO2e as the explained variable, while industrialization, urbanization, and FDI serve as explanatory variables, with education as a moderator. This research utilized Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine how education moderates the associations among industrialization, urbanization, FDI, and CO2e. Additionally, to validate the reliability of our results, we utilized the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The results of this study imply that CO2e levels increase with the level of industrialization and urbanization. The pursuit of education also contributed to the increase in CO2e. Moreover, education and industrialization have detrimental effects on CO2e. This study contributes uniquely to the literature by investigating the moderating influence of education on the relationships between independent variables and CO2e.