Kais Saidi

The impact of income, trade, urbanization, and financial development on CO2 emissions in 19 emerging economies

This study attempts to empirically examine the impact of financial development, income, trade openness, and urbanization on carbon dioxide emissions for the panel of emerging economies using the time series data over the period 1990–2013. Results showed a positive monotonic relationship between income and CO2 emissions. All models do not support the EKC hypothesis which assumes an inverted U-shaped relationship between income and environmental degradation. Financial development has a long-run negative impact on carbon emissions, implying that financial development minimizes environmental degradation. This means that financial development can be used as an implement to keep the degradation environmental clean by introducing financial reforms. The urbanization decreases the CO2 emissions; therefore, it is important for the policymakers and urban planners in these countries to slow the rapid increase in urbanization.

The dynamic links between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, health spending and GDP growth: A case study for 51 countries

Abstract This document investigated the causal relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, health spending and GDP growth for 51 countries (divided into three groups of countries: low‐income countries; group of countries with lower and upper middle income; group of middle income countries) covering the annual period 1995–2013. Dynamic simultaneous‐equations models and generalized method of moments (GMM) are used to investigate this relationship. The main results provide evidence of a causal relationship between the three variables. The empirical results show that there is a bidirectional causality between CO2 emissions and GDP per capita, between health spending and economic growth for the three groups of estimates. The results also indicate that there is a unidirectional causality from CO2 emissions to health spending, except low income group countries. We found that health plays an important role in GDP per capita; it limits its effect on a growing deterioration in the quality of the environment. HighlightsRelationships among carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, health spending and GDP growth are examined.Bidirectional causality between CO2 emissions and GDP per capita for three groups of countries.Bidirectional causality between health spending and GDP per capita for three groups of countries.Unidirectional causality from CO2 emissions to health spending, except low income group countries.

The relationship between pollutant emissions, renewable energy, nuclear energy and GDP: empirical evidence from 18 developed and developing countries

ABSTRACT This document investigates the causal relationship between nuclear energy (NE), pollutant emissions (CO2 emissions), gross domestic product (GDP) and renewable energy (RE) using dynamic panel data models for a global panel consisting of 18 countries (developed and developing) covering the 1990–2013 period. Our results indicate that there is a co-integration between variables. The unit root test suggests that all the variables are stationary in first differences. The paper further examines the link using the Granger causality analysis of vector error correction model, which indicates a unidirectional relationship running from GDP per capita to pollutant emissions for the developed and developing countries. However, there is a unidirectional causality from GDP per capita to RE in the short and long run. This finding confirms the conservation hypothesis. Similarly, there is no causality between NE and GDP per capita.

Foreign Direct Investment, Financial Development and Their Impact on the GDP Growth in Low-income Countries

ABSTRACT This essay empirically studies the effects and causal links between foreign direct investment (FDI), financial development (FD) and economic growth. The sample consists of the main economies of low-income countries and the study covers the period 1990–2015. The results of the estimate show that, under certain specific economic conditions, FDI affects positively the level of long-term economic growth; it thus makes it possible to improve the economic situation of these countries. Using Johansen’s cointegration technique, the results find that FD; FDI and GDP growth are cointegrated, that shows the pursuit of the long-term equilibrium relationship between them. The error correction model confirms the existence of a double causal relationship between FDI and GDP growth, and between FD and FDI and between GDP growth and FD.

The effects of population growth, environmental quality and trade openness on economic growth: a panel data application

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of population growth (PG), environmental quality and trade openness on economic growth of major developed and developing countries.,The authors have used the panel unit root and panel co-integration tests over the period 1960-2013. Granger causality test is used to find out the direction of causality between the variables.,There is a bi-directional relationship between economic growth and trade openness, and a unidirectional relation, running from trade openness to CO2 emissions in the three developed countries. PG has a positive effect on economic growth in three developing countries and there exists a bidirectional relationships between CO2 emissions and PG and a unidirectional relationship from PG to economic growth and from trade openness to economic growth. Furthermore, there is a unidirectional relationship from PG to economic growth and bidirectional relationships between trade openness and economic growth for the six selected countries.,This is the first comprehensive research that combined the selected three major developed and three major emerging countries of the world to explore the effects of three important variables on economic growth. The authors’ findings will help the policy makers as well as the people of these six countries. this study has shown the aggregate and disaggregate results, so a comparison between the groups of countries is possible. Therefore, this research has significant contributions.