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Going green: understanding the impacts of economic complexity, clean energy and natural resources on ecological footprint in complex economies

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Abstract

To counter environmental degradation, policymakers across the world are trying to design a policy framework that focuses on expanding economic sophistication and complexity of production alongside fostering the use of renewable energy and mitigating natural resource depletion. This study aims to investigate how different factors affect the ecological footprint in 50 major complex economies. The study undertakes an extended STIRPAT equation with data from 1990 to 2018. The STIRPAT equation allows us to test the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis and explore the impact of renewable energy use, technology, population, and natural resources. The study utilizes several second-generation econometric techniques such as augmented mean group, mean group, and common correlated effect mean group estimation techniques and a second-generation panel causality test. The outcome of the study reveals the existence of the EKC in these complex economies. Economic complexity, clean energy consumption, and population density have a significant negative impact on ecological footprint, whereas natural resources reveal insignificant impacts. The research concludes with policy suggestions for achieving sustainable development in these major complex countries.

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Funding

This study is supported by the grant of Russian Science Foundation: Code: 23-10-10165.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation

    Shujaat Abbas & Oleg Mariev

  2. Scottish Church College, Kolkata, India

    Sudeshna Ghosh

  3. Dept of Economics and Development Studies, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi, Jharkand, India

    Sanhita Sucharita

  4. Department of Economics, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey

    Buhari Dogan & Osman Değer

  5. Adnan Kassar School of Business, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Shujaat Abbas

  6. NTI International University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Buhari Dogan

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  1. Shujaat Abbas
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Appendix

Appendix

See Table 7

Table 7 Summarized findings of the recent literature: on economic complexity and ecological footprint
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Abbas, S., Ghosh, S., Sucharita, S. et al. Going green: understanding the impacts of economic complexity, clean energy and natural resources on ecological footprint in complex economies. Environ Dev Sustain (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04154-4

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