Effects of Infrastructures on Environmental Quality Contingent on Trade Openness and Governance Dynamics in Africa

Nchofoung, Tii and Asongu, Simplice (2021): Effects of Infrastructures on Environmental Quality Contingent on Trade Openness and Governance Dynamics in Africa.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate: (i) the effects of infrastructures on CO2 emission and (ii) how trade openness and governance contribute to mitigating these effects. The results from the system GMM methodology for 36 African countries between the 2003-2019 period show that infrastructural development exacerbates CO2 emission in Africa. This result is robust across different types of infrastructural development indexes. When the indirect effect regressions are carried out by interacting governance and trade openness with the different infrastructural development variables, the following results are obtained. Firstly, infrastructural development interacts with governance producing a positive net effect, up to a governance threshold estimate of 0.532 when the positive net effect is nullified. Secondly, infrastructures interact with trade openness producing a negative net effect up to a trade openness threshold of 78.066914 (% of GDP) when the negative net effect is nullified. Positive and negative synergy effects are also apparent. Practical policy implications are discussed based on the results obtained.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Infrastructures, CO2, trade openness, governance, Africa, System GMM
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C2 - Single Equation Models ; Single Variables > C23 - Panel Data Models ; Spatio-temporal Models; N - Economic History > N6 - Manufacturing and Construction > N67 - Africa ; Oceania; N - Economic History > N7 - Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services > N77 - Africa ; Oceania; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q56 - Environment and Development ; Environment and Trade ; Sustainability ; Environmental Accounts and Accounting ; Environmental Equity ; Population Growth

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