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The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 30302

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Suleman Sarwar

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Guest Editor

Finance and Economics Department, College of Business, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Interests: energy economics; environmental economics; sustainable economic growth; energy finance; portfolio analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Rida Waheed

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Guest Editor

Finance and Economics Department, College of Business, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Interests: energy economics; environmental economics; sustainable economic growth

Dr. Lucía Morales

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Guest Editor

School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Interests: international economics and finance; time series; economic and financial crises; energy economics; emerging economies; economic and financial contagion; Asian studies; economic development and sustainability; environmental economics; portfolio management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Sustainability aims to reflect on the current role that energy transition and environmental emergencies to attain sustainable economic growth, mainly through the nexus among energy, environment and economic growth. Without discarding this main objective, this Special Issue also aims to highlights the impacts of energy efficiency and environmental friendly policies not only on sustainable economic growth, but also to extend its consequences on social, health and sustainability issues. Lastly, as proved through number of empirical studies that industrialization, urbanization and nonrenewable energy are essential for economic growth, but at the cost of environmental degradation. However, this Special Issue gathers the new evidences to eliminate the environmental externalities through shift in energy mix, industrial waste treatment activities, urban relocations planning to achieve green environment goals, as well as to attain sustainable economic growth. Therefore, the Special Issue aims to invite the contributions which address the structure of indicators of sustainability, such as sustainable development goals (SDGs) related indicators, energy reforms, ecological footprint, sustainable welfare and quality of life. Additionally, the Special Issue focus on two critical issues covered by the papers are governance and management control issues in social and environmental perspectives; the role of organizations and universities to promote sustainable innovations will also be included.

Subsequently, the purpose of Special Issue is to capture further developments in the impact of economic growth and energy use on environmental degradation, considering as key variables the role that energy innovation, industrialization, urbanization, tourism or play on environmental degradation and social development, by utilizing new econometric techniques of database examination.

Dr. Suleman Sarwar
Dr. Rida Waheed
Dr. Lucía Morales
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

energy economics
environmental economics
sustainable development
economic growth
pollution hypothesis
industrialization
urbanization
governance

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 10209 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Step Crude Oil Price Prediction Based on LSTM Approach Tuned by Salp Swarm Algorithm with Disputation Operator

by Luka Jovanovic, Dejan Jovanovic, Nebojsa Bacanin, Ana Jovancai Stakic, Milos Antonijevic, Hesham Magd, Ravi Thirumalaisamy and Miodrag Zivkovic

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14616; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142114616 - 07 Nov 2022

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 2817

Abstract

The economic model derived from the supply and demand of crude oil prices is a significant component that measures economic development and sustainability. Therefore, it is essential to mitigate crude oil price volatility risks by establishing models that will effectively predict prices. A promising approach is the application of long short-term memory artificial neural networks for time-series forecasting. However, their ability to tackle complex time series is limited. Therefore, a decomposition-forecasting approach is taken. Furthermore, machine learning model accuracy is highly dependent on hyper-parameter settings. Therefore, in this paper, a modified version of the salp swarm algorithm is tasked with determining satisfying parameters of the long short-term memory model to improve the performance and accuracy of the prediction algorithm. The proposed approach is validated on real-world West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price data throughout two types of experiments, one with the original time series and one with the decomposed series after applying variation mode decomposition. In both cases, models were adjusted to conduct one, three, and five-steps ahead predictions. According to the findings of comparative analysis with contemporary metaheuristics, it was concluded that the proposed hybrid approach is promising for crude oil price forecasting, outscoring all competitors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth)

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40 pages, 2475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Forestry in China: A Spatial Panel Data Approach

by Ghazala Aziz and Zouheir Mighri

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12862; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141912862 - 09 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1313

Abstract

This study examines the role of forest activities in carbon emissions for Chinese provinces. We use forest area and forest investment with two sub-proxies. The findings of spatial analysis have reported significant and positive coefficients for forest area. On the contrary, forest investment has a significant and negative relationship with carbon emission. These results negate the traditional belief and propose that an increase in forests through proper and continuous management activities is conducive to mitigating the carbon emissions. Additionally, the decomposition of spatial analysis in direct and indirect effects has confirmed the local indirect effect, and spillover effect, in neighboring regions. This concludes that the emission in one province has a significant spillover effect in the neighboring provinces. The findings provide several policy implications that are fruitful for environmental policy makers while drafting the rules and policies, such as introducing the forest management activities rather than increasing in forest areas without proper research and continuous management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth)

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14 pages, 822 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Foreign Direct Investment, Environmental Pollution and Economic Growth—An Insight from Non-Linear ARDL Co-Integration Approach

by Thi Thuy Hang Le, Van Chien Nguyen and Thi Hang Nga Phan

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 8146; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14138146 - 04 Jul 2022

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2774

Abstract

The paper examines the impact of foreign direct investment and environmental pollution on economic growth in an emerging economy. We used annual data covering the period of 1986–2020 and the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) to analyze the positive and negative co-integrated variables, and our findings support the asymmetric relationship between foreign direct investment, environmental pollution and economic growth in both the short and long run, as well as a long-run relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth. A one-percent increase in environmental pollution leads to a positive change in economic performance by 0.662 percent. Adversely, a one-percent decrease in environmental pollution leads to a negative change in economic performance by 0.212 percent. Vietnam is an emerging market, and capital needs for economic activities are essential. However, the research results show that a disproportionate impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth is recorded in the long run, and a disproportionate impact of environmental pollution on the economy occurs in both the short and long term. Therefore, the government needs to have policies to attract foreign investment to develop a green and sustainable economy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth)

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22 pages, 373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Significance of Energy Factors, Green Economic Indicators, Blue Economic Aspects towards Carbon Intensity: A Study of Saudi Vision 2030

by Rida Waheed

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6893; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14116893 - 05 Jun 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3177

Abstract

The current study explores the nexus between energy factors, blue factors, green factors, and carbon intensity in Saudi Arabia. The non-linear ARDL technique is applied to data from 1991 to 2020. The results suggest that the overall impact of energy factors on carbon emission is insignificant, except the adverse shocks in energy intensity, which increase carbon intensity in the long run. Green factors are also irrelevant for carbon emissions in the post-Vision 2030 period. Nevertheless, blue factors are significant for minimizing carbon intensity for post-Vision 2030. Policymakers should invest in efforts to concentrate on energy and blue factors. Investment in the renewable energy and marine sectors is also essential to cater to carbon-related environmental issues. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth)

20 pages, 3452 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Incumbent vs. New Firms’ Entry into an Innovative Niche Market: Electric Motorcycles in Italy, 2010–2021

by Christian Garavaglia and Claudia Sartirana

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6734; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14116734 - 31 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2033

Abstract

The recent advent of electric motorcycles represents an eco-innovation that guarantees environmental sustainability and opens up market opportunities for firms. In this paper, we analyse firms’ entry into the motorcycle industry in Italy. The role of incumbent firms in the presence of new innovative niches is ambiguous. On the one hand, incumbents may display inertial behaviours, while on the other hand, they can exploit their experience and dynamic capabilities to promptly catch opportunities and enter the new niche. Based on an original dataset, we develop an empirical investigation of the role of incumbent vs. new firms in the electric motorcycle niche. We contribute to the literature by showing that new firms have so far revealed more vivid dynamics while incumbents seem to stay at the window, thus supporting the idea of the existence of inertia among incumbent firms in this industry. However, among the incumbents that have entered the new market niche, we show that the largest and those with experience in the production of scooters with 0–50 cc engines are the most likely to enter the new niche market. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth)

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14 pages, 3043 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Economies of Scale in City Gas Sector in Seoul, South Korea: Evidence from an Empirical Investigation

by Byoung-Kuk Ju, Seung-Hoon Yoo and Chulwoo Baek

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5371; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14095371 - 29 Apr 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1957

Abstract

The city gas sector in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, consists of five locally monopolized companies. As the city gas penetration reaches 98% and city gas as cooking fuel and heating fuel is being converted to electricity and district heating system, respectively, the need to redefine the role of the city gas sector is being raised. In this respect, this study aims to analyze the economies of scale in the city gas sector using the translog variable cost function model over the period 2008–2020 and to compute the minimum efficient scale. The scale economy index ranged from 0.1 to 0.2, which was larger than 1.0. The results show that the city gas sector still enjoys economies of scale, although the economies of scale are gradually disappearing. The minimum efficiency scale was estimated to be 1.06 times the size of the total market, which is the total output of the five companies. This finding vividly suggests that reducing the number of city gas companies through mergers and acquisitions among five city gas companies is more desirable in terms of cost reduction. This study suggests that the business structure favorable to the city gas business, such as high population density and urbanization, can rapidly lose economies of scale under rapid electrification and a rigid wholesale market. The central and local governments, which have the authority to regulate the city gas business, need to promote mergers and acquisitions between city gas operators, and to normalize distorted energy rates in order to prevent excessive electrification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth)

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23 pages, 2543 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Do Tourism Development, Energy Consumption and Transportation Demolish Sustainable Environments? Evidence from Chinese Provinces

by Abdul Rauf, Ilhan Ozturk, Fayyaz Ahmad, Khurram Shehzad, Abbas Ali Chandiao, Muhammad Irfan, Saira Abid and Li Jinkai

Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12361; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132212361 - 09 Nov 2021

Cited by 64 | Viewed by 2891

Abstract

China is performing a dominant role in the world’s economic growth, but it has mainly been the commencement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that has significantly increased its importance around the world. Recently, the emergence of the tourism industry has been considered as an alternative for sustainable economic and ecological development, which is ironic. Although China is promoting tourism in various regions under “The New Normal” phase, it needs to proactively address the challenges of dismantling, for the environment. The fundamental objective of the current study is to determine the long-term affiliation between tourism development, economic progress, transportation, energy consumption, value added hotel catering services, and environmental degradation (CO₂) for a panel of thirty (30) provinces of China over the period of 1995–2017. Primarily, we applied the CD test for investigating cross dependence; subsequently, conventional and CD based panel unit root tests (CIPS) were carried out to deal with the puzzle of the stationarity of the panel series. The results of the dynamics panel, DOLS, FMOLS, and PMG, indicated that transportation, energy consumption, and value added hotel and catering services have a strong positive association with carbon emission, but tourism development has mixed links with ecological degradation. Additionally, the causative based test revealed the bidirectional association of tourism development, transportation, economic progress, and energy consumption with environmental quality. The retrieved estimates conferred a few guidelines, concerning the presence of BRI projects, for the Chinese administration at the provincial and national level: initiating the renewable based energy projects and possibly wishing to decrease the use of fossil fuel based energy in the industry, transportation, and hotels and catering sectors. Furthermore, the prevalence of green investment in provinces may motivate economic progress and tourism development, without worsening the atmosphere. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth)

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20 pages, 4038 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does the Vision 2030 and Value Added Tax Leads to Sustainable Economic Growth: The Case of Saudi Arabia?

by Suleman Sarwar, Dalia Streimikiene, Rida Waheed, Ashwag Dignah and Asta Mikalauskiene

Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 11090; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131911090 - 07 Oct 2021

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3545

Abstract

The motivation behind the current research is to check the effect of the recent introduction of value added tax (VAT) and Vision 2030 on the economy of Saudi Arabia. To check this, those variables are added to the analysis which contribute to economic development including labor, capital, oil price, financial development, and trade openness to examine that how economic transformation affects the role of these variables in economic growth. According to the vector error correction (VEC) model, the impact of labor becomes negative after VAT, however, the impact of capital and financial development becomes significant by this transformation. The coefficients of oil prices, for positive and negative shocks, are significant and negative. Financial development and trade openness are reporting surprising results; positive shocks have shown negative coefficients. However, after Vision 2030, trade openness has a significant and positive coefficient. Policy implications include diversification of exports, reviving the private financing mechanism and restructuring the export/import policies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth)

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14 pages, 276 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Institutional Reforms and Their Impact on Economic Growth and Investment in Developing Countries

by Jin Zhao, Ghulam Rasool Madni, Muhammad Awais Anwar and Syeda Masooma Zahra

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4941; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13094941 - 28 Apr 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5714

Abstract

It is widely accepted that the economic and social system may be more efficient by reforming institutions. Institutional reforms are attempts to change the rules affecting human interactions and these reforms are fundamental for development and economic prosperity. The reforms can be divided into two categories; political and economic institutional reforms. It is need of the hour to determine the category of reform that is more suitable for developing countries. Moreover, a vast literature describes the impact of institutional reforms but little focused on exploring their impacts on macroeconomic activities. So, this study is an effort to determine the impact of institutional reforms on macroeconomic variables by considering the panel data of 122 developing countries covering the time span from 1996 to 2019. The study applied treatment analysis using the difference-in-differences technique to gauge the effects of reforms. Besides, it will be interesting to know the causes triggering the institutional reforms in developing countries. The findings of the study reveal that economic reforms are more important as compared with political reforms to grow the economies. The countries focusing on political reforms are not able to overcome the economic crisis. Moreover, both types of reforms do not cause each other in these countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth)

19 pages, 1665 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatio-Temporal Differentiation Mode and Threshold Effect of Yangtze River Delta Urban Ecological Well-Being Performance Based on Network DEA

by Meijuan Hu, Suleman Sarwar and Zaijun Li

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4550; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13084550 - 20 Apr 2021

Cited by 43 | Viewed by 2613

Abstract

Improving ecological well-being performance (EWP) is the essential requirement of green transformation development and ecological civilization construction. With the help of a network DEA model and threshold panel regression model, this study evaluated urban ecological well-being performance to explore the evolution process, impact, and optimization path of urban ecological well-being performance in the Yangtze River Delta from 2001 to 2017. The findings are as follows: (1) The ecological well-being performance of all cities in the region had been steadily improving since 2001, most cities had realized the transformation from a low performance level to a higher performance level, and there was an obvious spatial mismatch between urban economic development level and ecological well-being performance. (2) A regional urban ecological well-being performance development mode was constantly optimized, sustainable urban development ability was improved, and the number of high-high (HH) mode cities was gradually increasing while the number of low-low (LL) mode cities was gradually decreasing. (3) Under the influence of threshold variables of population density, industrialization level, and environmental regulation, the impact of urbanization on ecological well-being performance had different threshold characteristics. Economic growth, industrialization, and government macro-control had significantly negative restraining effects, while consumption level, industrial structure upgrading, energy efficiency, and technological innovation had significantly positive driving effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Economic Activities, Governance, Energy, and Environmental Economy to Achieve Sustainable Economic Growth)

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