IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jpolmo/v44y2022i3p511-531.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

ICT-trade and pollution in Africa: Do governance and regulation matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Evans, Olaniyi
  • Mesagan, Ekundayo Peter

Abstract

ICT has become a significant factor in the transition towards a low-carbon society in the modern era of increased digitalisation and clamour for environmental sustainability. Considering the significance of this digital transition in pollution abatement, we investigate the moderating effects of effective governance and regulation on the relationship between ICT-trade and pollution for 31 African countries from 2000 to 2020 by employing dynamic heterogeneous panel models robust to cross-sectional dependence. The empirical result suggests that, without adjustment for cross-sectional dependence, ICT-trade increases short and long-run pollution. Also, effective governance enhances pollution over the short and long run, while regulation lowers environmental pollution in the short term but increases long-run pollution. Further, government effectiveness moderates the effect of ICT-trade on pollution in the short and long run, whereas regulation only moderates the effect of ICT-trade on pollution in the long run. Conversely, having adjusted for cross-sectional dependence, ICT-trade, effective governance and regulation substantially lower pollution. Further, effective governance and regulation play essential roles in fostering the effects of ICT-trade on environmental pollution. Therefore, we recommend sensitivity to ICT-trade and fostering government effectiveness and regulation to curtail the adverse impact of ICT-trade on the environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Evans, Olaniyi & Mesagan, Ekundayo Peter, 2022. "ICT-trade and pollution in Africa: Do governance and regulation matter?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 511-531.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:44:y:2022:i:3:p:511-531
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2022.06.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161893822000333
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2022.06.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eberhardt, Markus & Presbitero, Andrea F., 2015. "Public debt and growth: Heterogeneity and non-linearity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 45-58.
    2. Asongu, Simplice A. & Le Roux, Sara & Biekpe, Nicholas, 2018. "Enhancing ICT for environmental sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 209-216.
    3. Mesagan, Ekundayo Peter & Olunkwa, Chidi Ndubuisi, 2022. "Heterogeneous analysis of energy consumption, financial development, and pollution in Africa: The relevance of regulatory quality," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Susmita Dasgupta & Benoit Laplante & Hua Wang & David Wheeler, 2002. "Confronting the Environmental Kuznets Curve," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 147-168, Winter.
    5. Joakim Westerlund, 2007. "Testing for Error Correction in Panel Data," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 69(6), pages 709-748, December.
    6. Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 2004. "Trade, Growth, and the Environment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 7-71, March.
    7. Zhang, Chuanguo & Zhou, Xiangxue, 2016. "Does foreign direct investment lead to lower CO2 emissions? Evidence from a regional analysis in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 943-951.
    8. Liu, Ximei & Latif, Zahid & Danish, & Latif, Shahid & Mahmood, Nasir, 2021. "The corruption-emissions nexus: Do information and communication technologies make a difference?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    9. Zheming Yan & Rui Shi & Zhiming Yang, 2018. "ICT Development and Sustainable Energy Consumption: A Perspective of Energy Productivity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-15, July.
    10. Francis Teal & Markus Eberhardt, 2010. "Productivity Analysis in Global Manufacturing Production," Economics Series Working Papers 515, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    11. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2006. "Estimation and Inference in Large Heterogeneous Panels with a Multifactor Error Structure," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(4), pages 967-1012, July.
    12. Andreoni, James & Levinson, Arik, 2001. "The simple analytics of the environmental Kuznets curve," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 269-286, May.
    13. Eberhardt, Markus & Teal, Francis, 2008. "Modeling technology and technological change in manufacturing: how do countries differ?," MPRA Paper 10690, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Hazwan Haini, 2021. "Examining the impact of ICT, human capital and carbon emissions: Evidence from the ASEAN economies," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 166, pages 116-125.
    15. Avishek Khanal, 2021. "The Role of ICT and Energy Consumption on Carbon Emissions: An Australian Evidence Using Cointegration Test and ARDL Long-run and Short-run Methodology," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(5), pages 441-449.
    16. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2007. "A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 265-312.
    17. Stern, David I., 2004. "The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Kuznets Curve," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1419-1439, August.
    18. Muhammad Uzair Ali & Zhimin Gong & Muhammad Ubaid Ali & Xiong Wu & Chen Yao, 2021. "Fossil energy consumption, economic development, inward FDI impact on CO2 emissions in Pakistan: Testing EKC hypothesis through ARDL model," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 3210-3221, July.
    19. Evans, Olaniyi, 2018. "Digital Agriculture: Mobile Phones, Internet & Agricultural Development in Africa," MPRA Paper 90359, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Markus Eberhardt, 2012. "Estimating panel time-series models with heterogeneous slopes," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 12(1), pages 61-71, March.
    21. Lantz, V. & Feng, Q., 2006. "Assessing income, population, and technology impacts on CO2 emissions in Canada: Where's the EKC?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 229-238, May.
    22. Avom, Désiré & Nkengfack, Hilaire & Fotio, Hervé Kaffo & Totouom, Armand, 2020. "ICT and environmental quality in Sub-Saharan Africa: Effects and transmission channels," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    23. Cariolle, Joël, 2021. "International connectivity and the digital divide in Sub-Saharan Africa," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    24. Pei-Zhi Liu & Seema Narayan & Yi-Shuai Ren & Yong Jiang & Konstantinos Baltas & Basil Sharp, 2022. "Re-Examining the Income–CO 2 Emissions Nexus Using the New Kink Regression Model: Does the Kuznets Curve Exist in G7 Countries?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, March.
    25. Rafael E. De Hoyos & Vasilis Sarafidis, 2006. "Testing for cross-sectional dependence in panel-data models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 6(4), pages 482-496, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yinhui Wang & Yugang He, 2023. "Does Information and Communication Technology Trade Openness Matter for China’s Energy Transformation and Environmental Quality?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-16, February.
    2. Mesagan, Ekundayo Peter & Alimi, Olorunfemi Yasiru & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2022. "The asymmetric effects of exchange rate on trade balance and output growth," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    3. Wang, Jianlong & Wu, Haitao & Liu, Yong & Wang, Weilong, 2024. "Health welfare in the digital era: Exploring the impact of digital trade on residents' health," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    4. Mesagan, Ekundayo Peter & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2023. "Does natural resource rent and consumption interplay worsen Africa's pollution? Heterogeneous panel approach with cross-sectional dependence," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Ekundayo Peter Mesagan & Xuan Vinh Vo & Precious Muhammed Emmanuel, 2023. "The technological role in the growth-enhancing financial development: evidence from African nations," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 657-680, February.
    6. Bruno Ibekilo & Chukwunonso Ekesiobi & Precious Muhammed Emmanuel, 2023. "Heterogeneous assessment of urbanisation, energy consumption and environmental pollution in Africa: the role of regulatory quality," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4421-4444, December.
    7. Evans, Olaniyi & Nwaogwugwu, Isaac & Vincent, Olusegun & Wale-Awe, Olawale & Mesagan, Ekundayo & Ojapinwa, Taiwo, 2023. "The socio-economics of the 2023 fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 118360, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Mohammed Abubakar, 2024. "Globalisation and Output Growth Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Critical Role of Trade Liberalisation," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 2218-2240, March.
    9. Opoku, Eric Evans Osei & Acheampong, Alex O. & Aluko, Olufemi Adewale, 2024. "Impact of rural-urban energy equality on environmental sustainability and the role of governance," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 304-335.
    10. Liang, Benbo & He, Gailei & Wang, Yuran, 2024. "The digital economy, market integration and environmental gains," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Trofimov, Ivan D., 2020. "Is There a J-Curve Effect in the Services Trade in Canada? A Panel Data Analysis," MPRA Paper 106704, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Bright Akwasi Gyamfi & Asiedu B. Ampomah & Festus V. Bekun & Simplice A. Asongu, 2022. "Can information and communication technology and institutional quality help mitigate climate change in E7 economies? An environmental Kuznets curve extension," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Skare, Marinko & Ozturk, Ilhan & Porada-Rochoń, Małgorzata & Stjepanovic, Sasa, 2024. "Energy as the new frontier: Dynamic panel data analysis revealing energy's transformative role in economic growth and technological progress," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    4. Alataş, Sedat, 2022. "Do environmental technologies help to reduce transport sector CO2 emissions? Evidence from the EU15 countries," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Churchill, Sefa Awaworyi & Inekwe, John & Ivanovski, Kris & Smyth, Russell, 2018. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve in the OECD: 1870–2014," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 389-399.
    6. Carvelli, Gianni, 2024. "The dynamic effects of public investments on private capital formation: Modelling a heterogeneous asymmetric cointegration with unobserved global factors," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    7. Sudeshna Ghosh, 2018. "Globalization and Environment: An Asian Experience," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(03), pages 1-27, October.
    8. Muhammad Shahbaz & Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad & Mantu Kumar Mahalik & Perry Sadorsky, 2018. "How strong is the causal relationship between globalization and energy consumption in developed economies? A country-specific time-series and panel analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(13), pages 1479-1494, March.
    9. Gautam, Tej K. & Paudel, Krishna P., 2018. "The demand for natural gas in the Northeastern United States," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 890-898.
    10. Olivier Damette & Mathilde Maurel & Michael A. Stemmer, 2016. "What does it take to grow out of recession? An error-correction approach towards growth convergence of European and transition countries," Post-Print halshs-01318131, HAL.
    11. Florian Grosset & Phu Nguyen Van, 2016. "Consommation d’énergie et croissance économique en Afrique subsaharienne," Mondes en développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(4), pages 25-42.
    12. Bruno Ibekilo & Chukwunonso Ekesiobi & Precious Muhammed Emmanuel, 2023. "Heterogeneous assessment of urbanisation, energy consumption and environmental pollution in Africa: the role of regulatory quality," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4421-4444, December.
    13. Thai-Ha Le & Youngho Chang & Donghyun Park, 2019. "Economic development and environmental sustainability: evidence from Asia," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1129-1156, October.
    14. Khang Yi Sim & Siok Kun Sek, 2024. "Unveiling the asymmetric energy-growth nexus in top oil-importing and exporting countries: The common correlated effects approach," Energy & Environment, , vol. 35(2), pages 539-568, March.
    15. Lazăr, Dorina & Minea, Alexandru & Purcel, Alexandra-Anca, 2019. "Pollution and economic growth: Evidence from Central and Eastern European countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1121-1131.
    16. Francois, John Nana & Ahmad, Nazneen & Keinsley, Andrew & Nti-Addae, Akwasi, 2022. "Heterogeneity in the long-run remittance-output relationship: Theory and new evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    17. Nwani, Chinazaekpere & Usman, Ojonugwa & Okere, Kingsley Ikechukwu & Bekun, Festus Victor, 2023. "Technological pathways to decarbonisation and the role of renewable energy: A study of European countries using consumption-based metrics," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    18. Zahed Ghaderi & Behnaz Saboori & Mana Khoshkam, 2023. "Revisiting the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis in the MENA Region: The Roles of International Tourist Arrivals, Energy Consumption and Trade Openness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    19. Tiba, Sofien & Belaid, Fateh, 2020. "The pollution concern in the era of globalization: Do the contribution of foreign direct investment and trade openness matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    20. Rafiq, Shuddhasattwa & Nielsen, Ingrid & Smyth, Russell, 2017. "Effect of internal migration on the environment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 31-44.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:44:y:2022:i:3:p:511-531. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505735 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.