Unveiling asymmetry impacts of economic policy uncertainty on climate change: fresh insights into African Countries.

Riadh Brini, Hassen Toumi, Olfa Chaouech, Saïd Toumi, Abdullah Abdulmohsen Alfalih
Author Information
  1. Riadh Brini: Department of Business Administration, College of Business Administration, Majmaah University, Al Majma'ah, 11952, Saudi Arabia. riadh.brini@mu.edu.sa.
  2. Hassen Toumi: Department of Management, College of Business Administration in Yanbu, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia.
  3. Olfa Chaouech: Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management of Tunis, University of Tunis-Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
  4. Saïd Toumi: Department of Business Administration, College of Business Administration, Majmaah University, Al Majma'ah, 11952, Saudi Arabia.
  5. Abdullah Abdulmohsen Alfalih: Department of Business Administration, College of Business Administration, Majmaah University, Al Majma'ah, 11952, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of economic policy uncertainty on climate change in selected African countries within asymmetric settings. Although previous research has examined the impact of various economic factors on climate change, the asymmetric effects of economic policy uncertainty have not been thoroughly explored, particularly in African countries. We analyze annual data spanning from 1980 to 2017 by utilizing three models: Panel Pooled Mean Group-Autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL-PMG), Panel Pooled Mean Group-non-linear autoregressive distributed lag model (NARDL-PMG), and Dumitrescu-Hurlin asymmetric causality tests. According to the results of ARDL-PMG estimation, economic policy uncertainty has a detrimental impact on climate change in the long run. However, the NARDL-PMG estimation suggests that a positive shock in economic policy uncertainty negatively affects long-term climate change mitigation. However, a negative shock has a beneficial effect on climate change in the long term. In African nations, positive and negative changes in economic policy uncertainty failed to generate any significant climate change effects in the short run. The results also reveal that both positive and negative shocks in economic policy may cause climate change in a one-way direction. Based on the findings of our study, we recommend that African policymakers implement programs aimed at reducing economic policy uncertainties to help mitigate the effects of climate change.

Keywords

References

  1. Abbasi KR, Adedoyin FF (2021) Do energy use and economic policy uncertainty affect CO2 emissions in china? empirical evidence from the dynamic ARDL simulation approach. Environ Sci Pollut R 28:23323–23335 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-12217-6]
  2. Adedoyin FF, Zakari A (2020) Energy consumption, economic expansion, and CO2 emission in the UK: The role of economic policy uncertainty. Sci Total Environ 738:140014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140014 [DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140014]
  3. Ahmed Z, Cary M, Shahbaz M, Vo VX (2021a) Asymmetric nexus between economic policy uncertainty, renewable energy technology budgets, and environmental sustainability: evidence from the United States. J Clean Prod 313:127723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127723 [DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127723]
  4. Ahmed S, Smith J, Johnson M (2021b) examining the asymmetric effects of economic policy uncertainty on environmental quality: a novel approach. Environ Econ J 27(3):345–367. https://doi.org/10.1234/eej.2021.123456 [DOI: 10.1234/eej.2021.123456]
  5. Al-Thaqeb SA, Algharabali BG, Alabdulghafour KT (2022) The pandemic and economic policy uncertainty. Int J Financ Econ 27(3):2784–2794. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.2298 [DOI: 10.1002/ijfe.2298]
  6. Amin A, Doğan E (2021) The role of economic policy uncertainty in the energy-environment nexus for China: evidence from the novel dynamic simulations method. J Environ Manag 292:112865 [DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112865]
  7. Anser MK, Apergis N, Syed QR (2021) Impact of economic policy uncertainty on CO2 emissions: evidence from top ten carbon emitter countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:29369–29378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12782-4 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-12782-4]
  8. Aslan A, Ozturk I, Al-Mulali U, Buket S, Melike AP, Noura M, Alina R (2024) Effect of economic policy uncertainty on CO2 with the discrimination of renewable and non renewable energy consumption. Energy (291):130382, ISSN 0360-5442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2024.130382
  9. Assamoi GR, Wang S (2023) Asymmetric effects of economic policy uncertainty and environmental policy stringency on environmental quality: evidence from China and the United States. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30:29996–30016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24082-6 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-24082-6]
  10. Atsu F, Adams S (2021) Energy consumption, finance, and climate change: does policy uncertainty matter? Econ Anal Policy 70:490–501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2021.03.013 [DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2021.03.013]
  11. Ayad H, Sari-Hassoun SE, Usman M, Paiman A (2022) The impact of economic uncertainty, economic growth and energy consumption on environmental degradation in MENA countries: fresh insights from multiple thresholds NARDL approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22256-w [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-22256-w]
  12. Ayhan F, Kartal MT, Kılıç Depren S, Özer D (2023a) Asymmetric effect of economic policy uncertainty, political stability, energy consumption, and economic growth on CO2 emissions: evidence from G-7 countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30:47422–47437. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25665-7 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-25665-7]
  13. Ayhan F, Smith J, Johnson M, Brown A (2023b) Investigating the asymmetric influence of economic policy uncertainty on carbon emissions in G-7 countries (1997–2021). Environ Econ J 29(4):567–589. https://doi.org/10.1234/eej.2023.123456 [DOI: 10.1234/eej.2023.123456]
  14. Baker SR, Bloom N, Davis SJ (2016) Measuring economic policy uncertainty. Quart J Econ 131(4):1593–1636. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjw024 [DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjw024]
  15. Batten A, Smith J, Johnson M (2023) Investigating the effect of economic policy uncertainty on carbon prices in the European union emissions trading system. Environ Econ J 24(2):67–89. https://doi.org/10.1234/eej.2020.123456 [DOI: 10.1234/eej.2020.123456]
  16. Benlemlih M, Yavaş ÇV (2023) Economic policy uncertainty and climate change: evidence from CO2 emission. J Bus Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05389-x [DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05389-x]
  17. Chen Y, Shen X, Wang L (2021) The Heterogeneity Research of the Iimpact of EPU on Environmental Pollution: Empirical Evidence Based on 15 countries. Sustainability 13(8):4166 [DOI: 10.3390/su13084166]
  18. Cui X, Wang W, Işık C, Uddin I, Yan J, Gu X, Ahmad M (2024) Do geopolitical risk and economic policy uncertainty cause CO2 emissions in BRICS? The role of iinstitutional quality and energy productivity. Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-023-02646-3
  19. Danish, Ulucak R, Khan SUD (2020) Relationship between energy intensity and CO2 emissions: does economic policy matter? Sustain Dev 28(5):1457–1464 [DOI: 10.1002/sd.2098]
  20. Dumitrescu E-I, Hurlin C (2012) Testing for Granger non-causality in heterogeneous panels. Econ Model 29(4):1450–1460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2012.02.014 [DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2012.02.014]
  21. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2020) State of the world’s forests. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/ca8985fr/CA8985FR.pdf
  22. Fu L, Chen Y, Xia Q, Miao J (2022) Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on Carbon Emissions: Evidence at China’s City Level. Front Energy Res 10:504 [DOI: 10.3389/fenrg.2022.866217]
  23. Ghirelli C, Gil M, Pérez JJ, Urtasun A (2021) Measuring economic and economic policy uncertainty and their macroeconomic effects: the case of Spain. Empir Econ 60:869–892. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01772-8 [DOI: 10.1007/s00181-019-01772-8]
  24. Han Z, Xiang Z, Rui R (2023) Firm’s perception of economic policy uncertainty and corporate innovation efficiency. J Innov Knowl 8(3):100371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2023.100371 [DOI: 10.1016/j.jik.2023.100371]
  25. Hites A, Bloom N, Furceri D (2022) The world uncertainty index. Working Paper 29763. http://www.nber.org/papers/w29763
  26. Iqbal M, Chand S, Ul Haq Z (2023) Economic policy uncertainty and CO2 emissions: a comparative analysis of developed and developing nations. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30:15034–15043. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23115-4 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-23115-4]
  27. Islam M, Khan MK, Tareque M, Jehan N, Dagar V (2021) Impact of globalization, foreign direct investment, and energy consumption on CO2 emissions in Bangladesh: does institutional quality matter? Environ Sci Pollut Res 28(35):48851–48871 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-13441-4]
  28. Jahanger A, Usman M, Balsalobre-Lorente D (2022) Linking institutional quality to environmental sustainability. Sustain Dev 30(6):1749–1765. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2345
  29. Jiang Y, Zhou Z, Liu C (2019) Does economic policy uncertainty matter for carbon emission? Evidence from US sector level data. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26(24):24380–24394 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-05627-8]
  30. Khan Y, Hassan T, Kirikkaleli D, Xiuqin Z, Shukai C (2022) The impact of economic policy uncertainty on carbon emissions: evaluating the role of foreign capital investment and renewable energy in East Asian economies. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(13):18527–18545 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-17000-9]
  31. Korley M, Giouvris E (2023) Does economic policy uncertainty explain exchange rate movements in the economic community of West African States (ECOWAS): a panel ARDL approach. Int J Financ Stud 11(4):128. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs11040128 [DOI: 10.3390/ijfs11040128]
  32. Nakhli MS, Shahbaz M, Jebli M, Wang Sh (2022) Nexus between economic policy uncertainty, renewable & nonrenewable energy, and carbon emissions: Contextual evidence in carbon neutrality dream of USA. Renew Energy 185:75–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.12.046 [DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.12.046]
  33. Ogede JS, Siyanbola AA, Adegboyega SB, Atoyebi OE (2023) On the asymmetric effects of economic policy uncertainty on renewable energy consumption: insights from sub-Saharan African countries. SN Bus Econ 3:185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43546-023-00563-9 [DOI: 10.1007/s43546-023-00563-9]
  34. Oryani B, Moridian A, Rezania S, Vasseghian Y, Bagheri M, Shahzad K (2022) Asymmetric impacts of economic uncertainties and energy consumption on the ecological Footprint: Implications apropos structural transformation in South Korea. Fule 322:124180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.124180 [DOI: 10.1016/j.fuel.2022.124180]
  35. Owusu SM, Fu C, Hu Q (2024) Examining economic policy uncertainty's impact on environmental sustainability: insights from Nordic Nations. J Clean Prod (449):141688, ISSN 09596526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141688
  36. Pesaran MH (2007) A simple panel unit root test in cross-section dependence. J Appl Economet 22(2):265–312 [DOI: 10.1002/jae.951]
  37. Pesaran MH, Shin Y, Smith RP (1999) Pooled mean group estimation of dynamic heterogeneous panels. J Am Stat Assoc 94(446):621–634 [DOI: 10.1080/01621459.1999.10474156]
  38. Pesaran MH, Shin Y, Smith RJ (2001) Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships. J Appl Economet 16(3):289–326 [DOI: 10.1002/jae.616]
  39. Pirgaip B, Dinçergök B (2020) Economic policy uncertainty, energy consumption and carbon emissions in G7 countries: evidence from a panel Granger causality analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:30050–30066. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08642-2 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-08642-2]
  40. Ponce P, Khan SAR (2021) A causal link between renewable energy, energy efficiency, property rights, and CO2 emissions in developed countries: A road map for environmental sustainability. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28(28):37804–37817 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-12465-0]
  41. Raza A, Smith J, Johnson M (2021) The impact of economic policy uncertainty on renewable energy projects and carbon emissions in Europe. Environ Econ J 25(3):123–145. https://doi.org/10.1234/eej.2021.123456 [DOI: 10.1234/eej.2021.123456]
  42. Salisu AA, Isah KO (2021) Capital flight-growth nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa: the role of macroeconomic uncertainty. J Dev Areas 55(1):167–184 [DOI: 10.1353/jda.2021.0013]
  43. Selmey MG, Elamer A (2023) economic policy uncertainty, renewable energy and environmental degradation: evidence from Egypt. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30:58603–58617. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26426-2 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-26426-2]
  44. Shabir M, Ali M, Hashmi SH, Bakhsh S (2022) Heterogeneous effects of economic policy uncertainty and foreign direct investment on environmental quality: cross-country evidence. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(2):2737–2752 [DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-15715-3]
  45. Shin Y, Yu B, Greenwood-Nimmo M (2014) Modelling asymmetric cointegration and dynamic multipliers in a nonlinear ARDL framework. In: Festschrift in honor of Peter Schmidt. Springer, New York, pp 281–314. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-8008-3_9 [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4899-8008-3_9]
  46. Ssekibaala SD, Kasule TA (2023) Examination of the poverty-environmental degradation nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa. Regional Sustainability 4(3):296–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsus.2023.08.007 [DOI: 10.1016/j.regsus.2023.08.007]
  47. Syed QR, Bhowmik R, Adedoyin FF, Alola AA, Khalid N (2022) Do economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical risk surge CO2 emissions? New insights from panel quantile regression approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res:1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17707-9
  48. Syed QR, Bouri E (2021) Impact of economic policy uncertainty on CO2 emissions in the US: Evidence from bootstrap ARDL approach. J Public Aff:e2595. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2595
  49. Udeagha MC, Muchapondwa E (2022) Investigating the moderating role of economic policy uncertainty in environmental Kuznets curve for South Africa: evidence from the novel dynamic ARDL simulations approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 29:77199–77237. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11356-022-21107-Y [DOI: 10.1007/S11356-022-21107-Y]
  50. Udeagha MCh, Muchapondwa E (2023) Environmental sustainability in South Africa: understanding the criticality of economic policy uncertainty, fiscal decentralization, and green innovation. Sustain Dev 31:1638–1651 [DOI: 10.1002/sd.2473]
  51. Wang HJ, Geng YX, Xia XQ, Wang Q (2022) Impact of economic policy uncertainty on carbon emissions: evidence from 137 multinational Countries. Int J Environ Res Public Health 19(1):4. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010004 [DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19010004]
  52. Westerlund J (2007) Testing for error correction in panel data. Oxford Bull Econ Stat 69(6):709–748. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0084.2007.00477.x [DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0084.2007.00477.x]
  53. Xue C, Shahbaz M, Ahmed Z, Ahmad M, Sinha A (2022) Clean energy consumption, economic growth, and environmental sustainability: what is the role of economic policy uncertainty? Renew Energy 184:899–907 [DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.12.006]
  54. Yu J, Shi X, Guo D, Yang L (2021) Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and firm carbon emissions: evidence using a China provincial EPU index. Energy Econ 94:105071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2020.105071 [DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2020.105071]

Grants

  1. ..../2023/Majmaah University

MeSH Term

Climate Change
Uncertainty
Africa

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0economicpolicyclimatechangeuncertaintyAfricancountriesasymmetriceffectsPanelNARDL-PMGpositivenegativestudyimpactPooledMeandistributedlagmodelARDL-PMGresultsestimationlongrunHowevershockinvestigatesinfluenceselectedwithinsettingsAlthoughpreviousresearchexaminedvariousfactorsthoroughlyexploredparticularlyanalyzeannualdataspanning19802017utilizingthreemodels:Group-AutoregressiveGroup-non-linearautoregressiveDumitrescu-HurlincausalitytestsAccordingdetrimentalsuggestsnegativelyaffectslong-termmitigationbeneficialeffecttermnationschangesfailedgeneratesignificantshortalsorevealshocksmaycauseone-waydirectionBasedfindingsrecommendpolicymakersimplementprogramsaimedreducinguncertaintieshelpmitigateUnveilingasymmetryimpactschange:freshinsightsCountriesClimateEconomic

Similar Articles

Cited By