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Biocapacity convergence clubs in Latin America: an analysis of their determining factors using quantile regressions

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Abstract

Latin America experiences an increasing urban primacy index and a rapid expansion of the financial system, putting direct pressure on the demand for resources to satisfy the consumption of large cities. We investigate the convergence of per capita biocapacity in 16 Latin America countries and evaluate the factors that influence its evolution over time. Specifically, we analyze the impact of the urban primacy index, economic progress, and the financial globalization index on the convergence of per capita biocapacity. We use the methodological framework developed by Phillips and Sul Econometrica 75:1771-1855, (2007) to analyze the convergence and the formation of convergence clubs of biocapacity during 1970–2017. The findings indicate that the countries of the region do not share a common trend of biocapacity, although they are grouped into five converging clubs. Biocapacity transition analysis reveals that countries have heterogeneous transition pathways between them. Using marginal effects, we find that the urban primacy index and economic progress reduce the biocapacity. The effect of the financial globalization index on biocapacity is not conclusive. The quantile regressions reveal that quantiles’ impact of the urban primacy index and financial globalization on per capita biocapacity is heterogeneous. However, the effect of economic progress on biocapacity that predominates among quantiles is positive. The adoption of common policies among the countries that form the converging clubs could improve the effectiveness of pro-environmental policies and promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals related to environmental quality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carrera de Economía and Centro de Investigaciones Sociales y Económicas, Universidad Nacional de Loja, 110150, Loja, Ecuador

    Rafael Alvarado, Lizeth Cuesta & Stefania Pinzon

  2. Esai Business School, Universidad Espíritu Santo, 091650, Samborondon, Ecuador

    Brayan Tillaguango

  3. Carrera de Administración Pública, Universidad Nacional de Loja, 110150, Loja, Ecuador

    María Raquel Alvarado-Lopez

  4. Faculty of Tourism, Anadolu University, 26210, Eskişehir, Turkey

    Cem Işık

  5. Department of Economics and Public Policy, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurugram, Haryana, 122413, India

    Vishal Dagar

Authors
  1. Rafael Alvarado
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  2. Brayan Tillaguango
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  3. Lizeth Cuesta
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  4. Stefania Pinzon
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  5. María Raquel Alvarado-Lopez
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  6. Cem Işık
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  7. Vishal Dagar
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Contributions

R. A.: estimates, supervision, edition, results and discussion; B. T.: statistical data, analysis; Estimates; L. C.: estimates correction, conclusions and policy implications; S. P., conceptualization, data curation; M. R. A-L.: literature review; C, I.: introduction, preliminary analysis of results. V. D. editing, conclusions.

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Correspondence to Rafael Alvarado.

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Alvarado, R., Tillaguango, B., Cuesta, L. et al. Biocapacity convergence clubs in Latin America: an analysis of their determining factors using quantile regressions. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 66605–66621 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20567-6

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