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Asymmetric effects of militarization on economic growth and environmental degradation: fresh evidence from Pakistan and India

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Abstract

To examine the asymmetric effects of militarization on economic growth and environmental degradation, this empirical research analyzes annual data of Pakistan and India over the period 1985–2018 using the NARDL econometric model. The empirical results show significant positive militarization effects on economic growth, while non-militarization also shows positive effects on the economic growth in Pakistan and India. Estimation showed that a 1% increase in militarization (non-militarization) led to 8.818% (3.849%) increase in GDP growth, whereas a 1% increase in militarization (non-militarization) decreased carbon emissions by − 1.034% (− 0.225%) in the long run in Pakistan, while militarization has also decreased the carbon emissions − 0.337% in India in the long run. The relationship between militarization and economic growth has an asymmetry in Pakistan and India in the short and long run, while asymmetry also exists between militarization and CO2 in Pakistan and India in the short and long run. Our findings offer significant policy implications for promoting economic growth and environmental quality in Pakistan and India.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Sana Ullah, Muhammad Tariq Majeed & Muhammad Zubair Chishti

  2. Federal Urdu University, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Zubaria Andlib

  3. Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Islamabad, Pakistan

    Sidra Sohail

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  1. Sana Ullah
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  2. Zubaria Andlib
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  3. Muhammad Tariq Majeed
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  4. Sidra Sohail
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  5. Muhammad Zubair Chishti
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Sana Ullah, Zubaria Andlib, and Muhammad Zubair Chishti analyzed the data and wrote the complete paper, while Muhammad Tariq Majeed and Sidra Sohail read and approved the final version.

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Ullah, S., Andlib, Z., Majeed, M.T. et al. Asymmetric effects of militarization on economic growth and environmental degradation: fresh evidence from Pakistan and India. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 9484–9497 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11142-y

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