Econometric Assessment of Institutional Quality in Mitigating Global Climate-Change Risk

Global impact on human obesity - A robust non-linear panel data analysis

Purpose: Recent studies in economics showed that humans are bounded rational. This being consumers, they are not perfect judges of what matters for the standard of living. While with a marked increase in economic and social wellbeing, there is a consistent rise in obesity levels, especially in the developed world. Thus, this study intends to explore the empirical and socio-economic antecedents of human obesity across countries using six global indexes. Methods: This study used the data of 40 countries between 1975 to 2018 and used the Panel FGLS Regression with the quadratic specification. Findings: The results showed that health and food indicators increase global human obesity, environment and education indicators decrease global human obesity, and economic and social indicators follow an inverted U-shaped pattern in affecting global human obesity. Originality: Previous studies have used infant mortality and life expectancy as the major health indicator in determining the standard of living while overlooking global human obesity as a major deterrent to welfare. This study has provided a holistic assessment of the causes of obesity in global contexts.

Global human obesity and political globalization; asymmetric relationship through world human development levels

Purpose - Political globalization is a crucial and distinct component of strengthening global organizations. Obesity is a global epidemic in a few nations, and it is on the verge of becoming a pandemic that would bring plenty of diseases. This research aims to see how the political globalization index affects worldwide human obesity concerning global human development levels. Methods- To assess any cross-sectional dependence among observed 109 nations, the yearly period from 1990 to 2017 is analyzed using second generation panel data methods. KAO panel cointegration test and Fully Modified Least Square model were used to meet our objectives. Finding- Low level of political globalization tends to increase global human obesity because countries cannot sway international decisions and resources towards them. While the high level of political globalization tends to reduce obesity because it can control and amends international decisions. For the regression model, a fully modified Least Square model was utilized. The study observed that the R squared values for all models are healthy, with a minimum of 87 percent variables explaining differences in global obesity at the country level. Originality: There is very important to tackle the globalization issue to reduce global human obesity. With the simplicity of dietary options and the amount of physical labour they undergo in their agricultural duties, an increase in rural population percentage tends to lower the average national obesity value.

Intervening long-run fundamentals of fossil energy demand-an effort towards responsible and clean energy consumption

Energy is crucial for growth, but over-reliance on fossil energy undermines sustainability. COP27 has emphasized over transition towards clean energy. Empirical studies have pointed out that energy transition requires infrastructure development which is costly in the short run. Global and national efforts to transition to renewable energy require investigating what matters in global fossil energy demand. While empirical studies have focused on motivating renewable energy, this study explores the determinants of fossil energy in anticipation of reducing its reliance and moving towards sustainable development goals. A non-linear panel quantile ARDL regression was deployed using data from 137 countries and showed that increased forest and natural resource rents and health expenditures are already playing their role. The quadratic models highlighted the importance of optimizing resource rents to nudge the renewable resource decision. Now, policymakers need to intervene in terms of income, education, and fossil energy rents to help households and firms prefer renewable energy sources and move towards sustainability.

Variation of digital economy's effect on carbon emissions: improving energy efficiency and structure for energy conservation and emission reduction

The significance of accurately assessing the influence of digital economy growth upon reducing emission of carbon in the context of worldwide climate governance cannot be overstated. This is crucial in encouraging low-carbon economic advancement at national level, achieving carbon peak and neutrality as soon as possible, and creating a shared future for humanity. A mediating effect model is established using cross-country panel data from 100 countries, ranging from 1990 to 2019, to assess the influence of digital economy development upon emission of carbon and to explore its underlying mechanism. The study found that: the growth of national emission of carbon can be considerably suppressed by digital economy development, and the reduction of emissions is positively associated to each country's level of economic advancement. Digital economy growth influences regional emission of carbon via intermediary channels like energy structure and efficiency, with energy intensity having a particularly noticeable intermediary impact. The inhibitory influence of digital economy development upon emission of carbon differs among countries with different levels of income, and improvements in energy structure and efficiency can precede to energy savings and emission reduction in both middle- and high-income countries. The above findings offer policy guidance for harmoniously advancing the growth of digital economy and climate management, hastening the low-carbon transformation of national economies, and implementing China's carbon peaking initiative.

Climate risk, natural resources, and climate change mitigation options in BRICS: implications for green recovery

The study tests the dynamic nexus between climate risk, natural resource exploration strategy in BRICS economies, and climate change mitigation. The study further extended the research aim and presented the recommendations for greening the globe by suggesting green recovery. Climate change protection and climate risk reduction may be efficiently funded using climate risks and natural resources. Still, it is vital to look at the carbon risk in BRICS countries as an example. The researchers used the GMM analysis technique to infer the study findings. According to the study's findings, environmental mitigation was significant at 17%, and financial strength and carbon risks were significant at 22.0%. In addition, the 20.5% association between climate risks and environmental drift in the BRICS nations highlights climate change concerns. A state's financial strength is essential to execute green economic recovery strategies, one of the most highly regarded measures to reducing climate change and guaranteeing long-term economic status at the national level. As a result of the study on green economic growth, decision-makers are provided with specific policy recommendations.

Moderation of Services' EKC through Transportation Competitiveness: PQR Model in Global Prospective

The continuously increasing GHG emissions have created environmental pollution and several challenges to ecosystems and biodiversity. The challenges of climate change are multipronged, resulting in melting glaciers, flash floods, and severe heat waves. In this regard, the adaptive and mitigation strategies to manage the consequences of climate change are highly important. The transport sector creates a quarter of carbon emissions, and this share is continuously increasing. Accordingly, this research study uses transport competitiveness to determine carbon emissions of the transport sector for 121 countries covering the time period from 2008 to 2018. The Panel Quantile Regression (PQR) technique is engaged to analyze the study results. The findings highlight that transport competitiveness tends to increase carbon emissions of the transport sector across quantile groups 1 and 3, while it reduces carbon emissions in quantile group 2. The U-shaped services' EKC is validated in quantile groups 2 and 4. The moderation engaged, i.e., transportation competitiveness, changes the turning point of the services' EKC across quantile groups 2 and 4. However, in the high-CO₂ quantile group, the moderation impact of transport competitiveness is strongest as it reduces the sensitivity by flattening the services' EKC. Furthermore, the planned expansion of the population and improved institutional quality tend to mitigate carbon emissions across different quantile groups. The policy relevance/implications that are based on the study results/findings are made part of the research paper.

Health expenditures, environmental quality, and economic development: State-of-the-art review and findings in the context of COP26

There are numerous factors that affect human health. Among others, environmental degradation, bad governance, and extensive economic growth are regarded as more destructive for health-related issues. To explore the nexus of the said factors and extend the scholarly literature, the current study aims to analyze the influence of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, governance indicators, and gross domestic product (GDP) on human health expenditures-captured by domestic health expenditures and capital health expenditures. Specifically, this study contrasted variables including regulatory quality (RQ), rule of law (RL), GDP, GHG emissions, and human capital (HC) with that of human health expenditure. Covering the period from 1996 to 2020, this study uses time series specifications in the case of China, which is one of the largest pollution-emitting economies across the globe. The empirical results found that the long-run equilibrium relationship exists between the variables. For the long-run coefficients, this study utilizes the fully modified ordinary least square, dynamic ordinary least square, and canonical cointegration regression, suggesting that economic development and RQ are adversely affecting human health expenditure. However, GHG emissions, RQ, and HC significantly improve human health by increasing health expenditure in China. Based on the empirical results, policies are suggested regarding human health improvement, improved governance quality, and environmental sustainability. The study discusses the empirical conclusions and implications as per COP26 declarations.

Role of Energy Mix in Determining Climate Change Vulnerability in G7 Countries

Anthropogenic activities are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, causing extreme events like soil erosion, droughts, floods, forest fires and tornadoes. Fossil fuel consumption produces CO2, and trapping heat is the major reason for a rapid increase in global temperature, and electricity generation is responsible for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions. Fossil fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and their adverse impact have become the focus of efforts to mitigate climate change vulnerability. This study explores empirical determinants of vulnerability to climate change such as ecosystem, food, health and infrastructure. The sustainable use of energy is necessary for development, and a source of response to climate change. The present study focuses on renewable energy consumption to determine climate vulnerability in G7 countries between 1995 and 2019. The panel ARDL approach showed that the renewable to non-renewable energy mix showed a quadratic effect on vulnerability, whereby a minimum threshold of renewable energy is required to witness a reduction in food, health and infrastructure vulnerability. Other results indicate that trade openness and development expenditures reduce health vulnerability. Development expenditures also decrease ecosystem vulnerability, while trade openness increases it. However, both of these variables increase infrastructure vulnerability. Avoiding severe food and water crises requires investment to tackle climate change, conserve energy and water resources, reform global trade and food markets, and adapting and adopting climate-resilient responses to change.