Abstract
This study investigates the dynamic linkages between financial development, economic growth, urbanization, trade openness, and a more reliable environmental indicator (ecological footprint) in ten ECOWAS nations from 1980 to 2022. The study applied the Pedroni and Kao cointegration tests to confirm the equilibrium tie-in between the variables. The study used the pool mean group (PMG) method to draw empirical inferences. In addition, the study also employed the ordinary least square (OLS), Fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) methods to confirm the robustness of the PMG estimates. The long-run estimates indicate that financial development, economic growth, and trade openness have a significant positive impact on the ecological footprint, while urbanization affects the ecological footprint negatively. The results of the country analysis reveal that financial development leads to a depletion in the ecological footprint in Sierra Leone, Togo, and Cote d’Ivoire, but it increases in Niger. Furthermore, we discover that economic development is not eco-friendly and increases the ecological footprint in Benin, Ghana, and Nigeria. We offer policy recommendations, discuss limitations, and suggest future research directions for our study.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability statement
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available on reasonable request.
References
Abdullahi, N. M., Huo, X., Zhang, Q., & Bolanle, A. A. (2021). Determinants and potential of agri-food trade using the stochastic frontier gravity model: Empirical evidence from Nigeria. SAGE Open, 11(4), 215824402110657. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211065770
Abdul-Mumuni, A., Amoh, J. K., & Mensah, B. D. (2022). Does foreign direct investment asymmetrically influence carbon emissions in sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from nonlinear panel ARDL approach. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22909-w
Abid, M. (2017). Does economic, financial and institutional developments matter for environmental quality? A comparative analysis of EU and MEA countries. The Journal of Environmental Management, 188, 183–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.12.007
Adams, S., & Klobodu, E. K. M. (2018). Financial development and environmental degradation: Does political regime matter? Journal of Cleaner Production, 197, 1472–1479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.252
Adams, S., & Opoku, E. E. O. (2020). Trade and environmental pollution in Africa: Accounting for consumption and territorial-based emissions. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(35), 44230–44239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10328-8
Adeleye, B. N., Daramola, P., Onabote, A., & Osabohien, R. (2021). Agro-productivity amidst environmental degradation and energy usage in Nigeria. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 8940. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98250-y
Afesorgbor, S. K., & Demena, B. A. (2021). Trade openness and environmental emissions: Evidence from a meta-analysis. Environmental and Resource Economics, 81(2), 287–321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-021-00627-0
Ahakwa, I., Tackie, E. A., Sarpong, F. A., Korankye, B., Ofori, E. K., Odai, L. A., & Musah, M. (2023). Revisiting the impact of trade openness on environmental sustainability in Belt and Road countries: A heterogeneous panel approach. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28366-3
Ahmad, M., Jiang, P., Majeed, A., & Raza, M. Y. (2020). Does financial development and foreign direct investment improve environmental quality? Evidence from belt and road countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(19), 23586–23601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08748-7
Ahmed, Z., Asghar, M. M., Malik, M. N., & Nawaz, K. (2020). Moving towards a sustainable environment: The dynamic linkage between natural resources, human capital, urbanization, economic growth, and ecological footprint in China. Resources Policy, 67, 101677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101677
Ahmed, Z., Zhang, B., & Cary, M. (2021). Linking economic globalization, economic growth, financial development, and ecological footprint: Evidence from symmetric and asymmetric ARDL. Ecological Indicators, 121, 107060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107060
Al-Barakani, A., Bin, L., Zhang, X., Saeed, M., Qahtan, A. S. A., & Hamood Ghallab, H. M. (2022). Spatial analysis of financial development’s effect on the ecological footprint of belt and road initiative countries: Mitigation options through renewable energy consumption and institutional quality. Journal of Cleaner Production, 366, 132696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132696
Ali, K., Jianguo, D., & Kirikkaleli, D. (2022). Modeling the natural resources and financial inclusion on ecological footprint: The role of economic governance institutions. Evidence from ECOWAS Economies. Resources Policy, 79, 103115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.103115
Al-Mulali, U., Tang, C. F., & Ozturk, I. (2015). Does financial development reduce environmental degradation? Evidence from a panel study of 129 countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(19), 14891–14900. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4726-x
Alola, A. A., Bekun, F. V., & Sarkodie, S. A. (2019a). Dynamic impact of trade policy, economic growth, fertility rate, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on ecological footprint in Europe. Science of the Total Environment, 685, 702–709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.139
Alola, A. A., Yalciner, K., Alola, U. V., & Akadiri, S. S. (2019b). The role of renewable energy, immigration and real income in environmental sustainability target. Evidence from Europe largest states. Science of the Total Environment, 674, 307–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.163
Aluko, O. A., & Obalade, A. A. (2020). Financial development and environmental quality in sub-Saharan Africa: Is there a technology effect? Science of the Total Environment, 747, 141515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141515
Ansari, M. A., Villanthenkodath, M. A., Akram, V., & Rath, B. N. (2022). The nexus between ecological footprint, economic growth, and energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa: A technological threshold approach. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 25(8), 7823–7850. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02377-5
Appiah, K., Worae, T. A., Yeboah, B., & Yeboah, M. (2022). The causal nexus between trade openness and environmental pollution in selected emerging economies. Ecological Indicators, 138, 108872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108872
Arogundade, S., Hassan, A. S., & Bila, S. (2022). Diaspora income, financial development and ecological footprint in Africa. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 29(5), 440–454. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2022.2036855
Arshad, A., & Parveen, S. (2023). Exploring the impact of financial inclusion on greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) and energy efficiency: Evidence from developing countries. Environment, Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03780-2
Ashraf, A., Nguyen, C. P., & Doytch, N. (2022). The impact of financial development on ecological footprints of nations. The Journal of Environmental Management, 322, 116062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116062
Aydin, M., & Turan, Y. E. (2020). The influence of financial openness, trade openness, and energy intensity on ecological footprint: Revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for BRICS countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(34), 43233–43245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10238-9
Baloch, M. A., Zhang, J., Iqbal, K., & Iqbal, Z. (2019). The effect of financial development on ecological footprint in BRI countries: Evidence from panel data estimation. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(6), 6199–6208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3992-9
Balsalobre-Lorente, D., Topaloglu, E. E, Nur, T., & Evcimen, C. (2023). Exploring the linkage between financial development and ecological footprint in APEC countries: A novel view under corruption perception and environmental policy stringency. Journal of Cleaner Production, 414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137686
Baltagi, B. H., Egger, P. H., & Kesina, M. (2018). Generalized spatial autocorrelation in a panel-probit model with an application to exporting in China. Empirical Economics, 55(1), 193–211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-017-1409-0
Bello, M. O., Solarin, S. A., & Yen, Y. Y. (2018). The impact of electricity consumption on CO(2) emission, carbon footprint, water footprint and ecological footprint: The role of hydropower in an emerging economy. The Journal of Environmental Management, 219, 218–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.04.101
Caglar, A. E., Mert, M., & Boluk, G. (2021). Testing the role of information and communication technologies and renewable energy consumption in ecological footprint quality: Evidence from world top 10 pollutant footprint countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 298, 126784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126784
Çağlar, K. K., Salih, B., & Yusuf, K. (2022). Sustainable development goals assessment of Erzurum province with SWOT-AHP analysis. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 24, 3013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01624-5
Chapman, C. A., Abernathy, K., Chapman, L. J, Downs, C., Effiom, E. O., Gogarten, J. F., Golooba, M., Kalbitzer, U., Lawes, M. J., Mekonnen, A., Omeja, P., Razafindratsima, O., Sheil, D., Tabor, G. M., Tumwesigye, C., & Sarkar, D. (2022). The future of sub-Saharan Africa’s biodiversity in the face of climate and societal change. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.790552
Chowdhury, M. A. F., Shanto, P. A., Ahmed, A., & Rumana, R. H. (2020). Does foreign direct investments impair the ecological footprint? New evidence from the panel quantile regression. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(12), 14372–14385. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11518-0
Dada, J. T., Adeiza, A., Ismail, N. A., & Arnaut, M. (2022a). Financial development–ecological footprint nexus in Malaysia: The role of institutions. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 33(4), 913–937. https://doi.org/10.1108/meq-10-2021-0251
Dada, J. T., Adeiza, A., Noor, A. I., & Marina, A. (2022b). Investigating the link between economic growth, financial development, urbanization, natural resources, human capital, trade openness and ecological footprint: Evidence from Nigeria. Journal of Bioeconomics, 24(2), 153–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10818-021-09323-x
Danish, & Wang, Z. (2019). Investigation of the ecological footprint’s driving factors: What we learn from the experience of emerging economies. Sustainable Cities and Society, 49, 101626. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101626
Destek, M. A., & Sarkodie, S. A. (2019). Investigation of environmental Kuznets curve for ecological footprint: The role of energy and financial development. Science of the Total Environment, 650(Pt 2), 2483–2489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.017
Destek, M. A., & Sinha, A. (2020). Renewable, non-renewable energy consumption, economic growth, trade openness and ecological footprint: Evidence from organisation for economic Co-operation and development countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 242, 118537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118537
Dogan, E., & Inglesi-Lotz, R. (2017). Analyzing the effects of real income and biomass energy consumption on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions: Empirical evidence from the panel of biomass-consuming countries. Energy, 138, 721–727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.07.136
Edeme, R. K., Ifelunini, I. A., & Nkalu, N. C. (2016). A comparative analysis of the impact of agricultural exports on economic growth of ECOWAS countries. Acta Oeconomica Pragensia, 24(5), 31–46. https://doi.org/10.18267/j.aop.556
Edmonds, H. K., Lovell, J. E., & Lovell, C. A. K. (2020). A new composite climate change vulnerability index. Ecological Indicators, 117, 106529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106529
Ehigiamusoe, K. U., Lean, H. H., Babalola, S. J., & Poon, W. C. (2022). The roles of financial development and urbanization in degrading environment in Africa: Unravelling non-linear and moderating impacts. Energy Reports, 8, 1665–1677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2021.12.048
Emenekwe, C. C., Onyeneke, R. U., & Nwajiuba, C. U. (2022). Financial development and carbon emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(13), 19624–19641. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17161-7
Farhani, S., & Ozturk, I. (2015). Causal relationship between CO2 emissions, real GDP, energy consumption, financial development, trade openness, and urbanization in Tunisia. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(20), 15663–15676. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4767-1
Frankel, J. A., & Romer, D. (1999). Does trade cause growth? The American Economic Review, 89(3), 379–399.
Freire, F. S., da Silva, N. O., & De Oliveira, V. R. F. (2023). Economic growth and greenhouse gases in Brazilian States: Is the environmental Kuznets curve applicable hypothesis? Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(15), 44928–44942. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25411-z
Gokmenoglu, K. K., Taspinar, N., & Rahman, M. M. (2020). Military expenditure, financial development and environmental degradation in Turkey: A comparison of CO2 emissions and ecological footprint. International Journal of Finance & Economics, 26(1), 986–997. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.1831
Grossman, G. M., & Krueger, A. B. (1995). Economic growth and the environment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110(2), 353–377.
Gujarati, D. N. (2019). Basic econometrics (6th ed.). McGraw Hill.
Harris, R. D. F., & Tzavalis, E. (1999). Inference for unit roots in dynamic panels where the time dimension is fixed. Journal of Econometrics, 91, 201–226.
Hassan, S. T., Xia, E., Khan, N. H., & Shah, S. M. A. (2019). Economic growth, natural resources, and ecological footprints: Evidence from Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(3), 2929–2938. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3803-3
Hausman, J. (2001). Mismeasured variables in econometric analysis: Problems from the right and problems from the left. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(4), 57–67.
Hongxing, Y., Abban, O. J., Boadi, A. D., & Ankomah-Asare, E. T. (2021). Exploring the relationship between economic growth, energy consumption, urbanization, trade, and CO2 emissions: A PMG-ARDL panel data analysis on regional classification along 81 BRI economies. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(46), 66366–66388. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15660-1
Huang, Y., Chen, F., Wei, H., Xiang, J., Xu, Z., & Akram, R. (2022). The impacts of FDI inflows on carbon emissions: Economic development and regulatory quality as moderators. Frontiers in Energy Research, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2021.820596
Im, K. S., Pesaran, M. H., & Shin, Y. (2003). Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels. Journal of Econometrics, 115(1), 53–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-4076(03)00092-7
Iqbal, A., Tang, X., & Rasool, S. F. (2022). Investigating the nexus between CO2 emissions, renewable energy consumption, FDI, exports and economic growth: Evidence from BRICS countries. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 25(3), 2234–2263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02128-6
Kao, C. (1999). Spurious regression and residual-based tests for cointegration in panel data. Journal of Econometrics, 90, 1–44.
Kihombo, S., Ahmed, Z., Chen, S., Adebayo, T. S., & Kirikkaleli, D. (2021). Linking financial development, economic growth, and ecological footprint: What is the role of technological innovation? Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(43), 61235–61245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14993-1
Kizilgol, O., & Ondes, H. (2022). Factors affecting the ecological footprint: A study on the OECD countries. Science of the Total Environment, 849, 157757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157757
Kutlar, A., Gulmez, A., Kabasakal, A., & Kutlar, S. (2021). Ecological footprint, energy usage, and economic progress relationship: The MINT countries. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 35(1), 4457–4480. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677x.2021.2013279
Lazar, N., & Chithra, K. (2021). Role of culture in sustainable development and sustainable built environment: A review. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 24(5), 5991–6031. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01691-8
Le, T.-H., Chang, Y., & Park, D. (2016). Trade openness and environmental quality: International evidence. Energy Policy, 92, 45–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.01.030
Levin, A., Lin, C.-F., & Chu, C.-S.J. (2002). Unit root tests in panel data: Asymptotic and finite-sample properties. Journal of Econometrics, 108, 1–24.
Liu, Y., Sadiq, F., Ali, W., & Kumail, T. (2022). Does tourism development, energy consumption, trade openness and economic growth matters for ecological footprint: Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve and pollution haven hypothesis for Pakistan. Energy, 245, 123208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2022.123208
Martınez-Zarzoso, I., & Bengochea-Morancho, A. (2004). Pooled mean group estimation of an environmental Kuznets curve for CO2. Economics Letters, 82(1), 121–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2003.07.008
Mensah, B. D., & Abdul-Mumuni, A. (2022). Asymmetric effect of remittances and financial development on carbon emissions in sub-Saharan Africa: An application of panel NARDL approach. International Journal of Energy Sector Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijesm-03-2022-0016
Muoneke, O. B., Okere, K. I., & Nwaeze, C. N. (2022). Agriculture, globalization, and ecological footprint: The role of agriculture beyond the tipping point in the Philippines. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(36), 54652–54676. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19720-y
Musah, M., Kong, Y., Mensah, I. A., Antwi, S. K., & Donkor, M. (2020). The link between carbon emissions, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth: A heterogeneous panel evidence from West Africa. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(23), 28867–28889. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08488-8
Musah, M., Owusu-Akomeah, M., Nyeadi, J. D., Alfred, M., & Mensah, I. A. (2022). Financial development and environmental sustainability in West Africa: Evidence from heterogeneous and cross-sectionally correlated models. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(8), 12313–12335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16512-8
Nathaniel, S. P. (2020). Ecological footprint, energy use, trade, and urbanization linkage in Indonesia. GeoJournal, 86(5), 2057–2070. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10175-7
Nathaniel, S. P., & Iheonu, C. O. (2019). Carbon dioxide abatement in Africa: The role of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption. Science of the Total Environment, 679, 337–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.011
Nathaniel, S., & Khan, S. A. R. (2020). The nexus between urbanization, renewable energy, trade, and ecological footprint in ASEAN countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 272, 122709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122709
Nathaniel, S., Anyanwu, O., & Shah, M. (2020). Renewable energy, urbanization, and ecological footprint in the Middle East and North Africa region. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(13), 14601–14613. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08017-7
Ngoc, B. H., & Awan, A. (2022). Does financial development reinforce ecological footprint in Singapore? Evidence from ARDL and Bayesian analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(16), 24219–24233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17565-5
Ntiamoah, E. B., Chandio, A. A., Yeboah, E. N., Twumasi, M. A., Siaw, A., & Li, D. (2023). How do carbon emissions, economic growth, population growth, trade openness and employment influence food security? Recent evidence from the East Africa. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(18), 51844–51860. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26031-3
Nyeadi, J. D. (2022). The impact of financial development and foreign direct investment on environmental sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: using PMG-ARDL approach. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677x.2022.2106270
Onuoha, F. C., Uzoechina, B. I., Ochuba, O. I., & Inyang, N. F. (2022). Economic expansion, energy sources and environmental quality in ECOWAS sub-region: Evidence from a heterogeneous panel non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PNARDL). Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(6), 8892–8908. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16173-7
Pata, U. K., & Yilanci, V. (2020). Financial development, globalization and ecological footprint in G7: Further evidence from threshold cointegration and fractional frequency causality tests. Environmental and Ecological Statistics, 27(4), 803–825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10651-020-00467-z
Pedroni, P. (1999). Criticalvalues for cointegration tests in heterogeneous panels with multiple regressors. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 0305–9049.
Pesaran, M. H. (2007). A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 22(2), 265–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.951
Pesaran, M. H., Shin, Y., & Smith, R. P. (1999). Pooled mean group estimation of dynamic heterogeneous panels. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 94(446), 621–634. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1999.10474156
Pesaran, M. H. (2004). General diagnostic tests for cross section dependence in panels, CESifo Working Paper, No. 1229. Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich.
Phillips, P. C. B., & Sul, D. (2003). Dynamic panel estimation and homogeneity testing under cross section dependence. Econometrics Journal, 6, 217–259.
Phiri, A., Mhaka, S., & Taonezvi, L. (2023). Too poor to be clean? A quantile ARDL assessment of the environmental Kuznets curve in SADC countries. Environment, Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03760-6
Ruza, C., & Caro-Carretero, R. (2022). The non-linear impact of financial development on environmental quality and sustainability: Evidence from G7 countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148382
Salari, T. E., Roumiani, A., & Kazemzadeh, E. (2021). Globalization, renewable energy consumption, and agricultural production impacts on ecological footprint in emerging countries: Using quantile regression approach. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(36), 49627–49641. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14204-x
Sarkodie, S. A. (2018). The invisible hand and EKC hypothesis: What are the drivers of environmental degradation and pollution in Africa? Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25(22), 21993–22022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2347-x
Sarkodie, S. A., Ntiamoah, E. B., & Li, D. (2019). Panel heterogeneous distribution analysis of trade and modernized agriculture on CO2emissions: The role of renewable and fossil fuel energy consumption. Natural Resources Forum, 43(3), 135–153. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-8947.12183
Shahbaz, M., Nasreen, S., Ahmed, K., & Hammoudeh, S. (2017). Trade openness–carbon emissions nexus: The importance of turning points of trade openness for country panels. Energy Economics, 61, 221–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2016.11.008
Shobande, O. A., & Ogbeifun, L. (2021). The criticality of financial development and energy consumption for environmental sustainability in OECD countries: Evidence from dynamic panel analysis. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 29(2), 153–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2021.1934179
Sianes, A., Vega-Munoz, A., Tirado-Valencia, P., & Ariza-Montes, A. (2022). Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals on the academic research agenda. A scientometric analysis. Plos One, 17(3), e0265409. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265409
Sintayehu, D. W. (2018). Impact of climate change on biodiversity and associated key ecosystem services in Africa: A systematic review. Ecosystem Health and Sustainability, 4(9), 225–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/20964129.2018.1530054
Solarin, S. A., & Al-Mulali, U. (2018). Influence of foreign direct investment on indicators of environmental degradation. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25(25), 24845–24859. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2562-5
Tamazian, A., Chousa, J. P., & Vadlamannati, K. C. (2009). Does higher economic and financial development lead to environmental degradation: Evidence from BRIC countries. Energy Policy, 37(1), 246–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2008.08.025
Ucan, O., Ozturk, I., & Turgut, E. (2023). Determinants of ecological footprint in BRICS countries: A panel data analysis. Environment, Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03755-3
Usman, M., & Hammar, N. (2021). Dynamic relationship between technological innovations, financial development, renewable energy, and ecological footprint: Fresh insights based on the STIRPAT model for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(12), 15519–15536. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11640-z
Usman, M., Makhdum, M. S. A., & Kousar, R. (2021). Does financial inclusion, renewable and non-renewable energy utilization accelerate ecological footprints and economic growth? Fresh evidence from 15 highest emitting countries. Sustainable Cities and Society, 65, 102590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102590
Usman, M., Kousar, R., Makhdum, M. S. A., Yaseen, M. R., & Nadeem, A. M. (2022). Do financial development, economic growth, energy consumption, and trade openness contribute to increase carbon emission in Pakistan? An insight based on ARDL bound testing approach. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 25(1), 444–473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02062-z
Usman, M., Chughtai, S., Rashid, A., & Khan, N. (2023). Disaggregated financial development and ecological sustainability: The critical role of urbanization, energy utilization, and economic growth in next 11 economies. Environment, Development and Sustainability https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03368-w
Wang, J., & Dong, K. (2019). What drives environmental degradation? Evidence from 14 Sub-Saharan African countries. Science of the Total Environment, 656, 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.354
Wang, W.-Z., Liu, L.-C., Liao, H., & Wei, Y.-M. (2021). Impacts of urbanization on carbon emissions: An empirical analysis from OECD countries. Energy Policy, 151, 112171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112171
Wu, J., Abban, O. J., Hongxing, Y., Boadi, A. D., & Ankomah-Asare, E. T. (2021). The nexus amid foreign direct investment, urbanization, and CO2 emissions: Evidence from energy grouping along the ECOWAS community. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 24(8), 10183–10207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01860-9
Yang, B., Jahanger, A., & Ali, M. (2021). Remittance inflows affect the ecological footprint in BICS countries: Do technological innovation and financial development matter? Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(18), 23482–23500. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12400-3
Zahra, S., Khan, D., Gupta, R., Popp, J., & Olah, J. (2022). Assessing the asymmetric impact of physical infrastructure and trade openness on ecological footprint: An empirical evidence from Pakistan. PLoS ONE, 17(5), e0262782. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262782
Zaidi, S. A. H., Zafar, M. W., Shahbaz, M., & Hou, F. (2019). Dynamic linkages between globalization, financial development and carbon emissions: Evidence from Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 228, 533–543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.210
Zaman, K., & Moemen, M.A.-E. (2017). Energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and economic development: Evaluating alternative and plausible environmental hypothesis for sustainable growth. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 74, 1119–1130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.02.072
Zhang, Y.-J. (2011). The impact of financial development on carbon emissions: An empirical analysis in China. Energy Policy, 39(4), 2197–2203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.02.026
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the anonymous reviewers, the editor-in-Chief, and Olufemi Adewale Aluko for their helpful comments on the previous draft of the paper.
Funding
This paper was supported by the Earmarked Fund for China Agricultural Research System (Grant Number CARS-28) and the Humanities & Social Sciences Youth Foundation of the People’s Republic of China (Grant number: 22YJC790164).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
We declare that all authors have no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Abdullahi, N.M., Ibrahim, A.A., Zhang, Q. et al. Dynamic linkages between financial development, economic growth, urbanization, trade openness, and ecological footprint: an empirical account of ECOWAS countries. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04713-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04713-3