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The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the impact of natural resource rents on income inequality in Ethiopia from 1981 to 2022 and investigate whether investments in manufacturing moderate this relationship.

Dynamic autoregressive distributed lag simulation and Kernel-based regularized least squares (KRLS) models are used to analyses short- and long-run relationships, as well as the potential moderating role of manufacturing.

The bounds test indicates natural resource rents have a long-run positive effect on inequality but a short-run negative impact. The KRLS model finds manufacturing conditions for this linkage in the short run. In the long run, economic growth decreases inequality following an inverted Kuznets pattern, while government expenditures reduce disparities when directed at priority social services.

The findings provide mixed support for theories while highlighting nuances not fully captured without local analyses. Strategic sectoral investments may help optimize outcomes from resource dependence.

The results imply Ethiopia should prudently govern resources, productively invest revenues and prioritize social spending to equitably manage industrialization and uphold stability.

Reducing disparities through inclusive development aligned with empirical evidence could help Ethiopia sustain peace amid transformation and realize its goals of shared prosperity.

This study applies innovative econometrics to provide novel insights into Ethiopia's experience, resolving inconsistencies in the literature on relationships between key determinants and inequality.

This study examines the environmental effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and economic growth by revisiting the pollution haven and EKC hypotheses in the context of Africa.

The underlying relationships are unravelled with the help of quantile regressions for a panel of 46 African countries over the 1996–2022 period.

The results show that FDI inflows significantly increase CO2 emissions, supporting the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) in Africa. There is also evidence of the N-shaped EKC hypothesis. When analysing different income groups, PHH and EKC remain consistent, except in low-income countries where only PHH is observed. However, the environmental impact of FDI inflows and economic growth decreases at higher quantiles. These findings suggest that policymakers in Africa should strengthen environmental regulations and adopt common environmental standards that encourage green technologies.

This study fills an empirical research gap by comprehensively examining the relationship between FDI, economic growth, and environmental degradation in African countries. Unlike previous studies focused on the inverted U-shaped EKC, our research reveals the existence of an N-shaped EKC in Africa.

This study aims to examine whether energy poverty impacts gender inequality and CO₂ emissions in African countries with the biggest economies by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita from 1996 to 2020. Additionally, this study examines the existence of the gender Kuznets curve (GKC) and the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theories. Furthermore, it evaluates the connection between economic development and carbon emissions, on the one hand, and economic development and gender inequality on the other.

This study uses the augmented Dickey–Fuller and Phillip–Perron unit root tests to determine the degree of integration between the variables. It also uses the Pedroni and Fisher–Combine Johansen cointegration tests to assess a long-run relationship between the variables. The authors adopted the pooled mean group (PMG)-autoregressive distributed lag model and used the E-Views 12 software to run the analysis.

The empirical analysis approves the long-run correlation among the variables used in this study. Increased energy poverty and GDP increase CO₂ emissions, whereas income square hurts CO₂ emissions. These results are consistent with the EKC hypothesis, which proposes a non-linear relationship between CO₂ emissions and economic growth in the studied areas (similar to an inverted U shape). Long-term foreign direct investment (FDI) has a negative correlation with CO₂ emissions. On the contrary, energy poverty, GDPsq and FDI find a positive relationship with gender inequality, whereas GDP finds a negative association with gender inequality. The negative relationship between GDPsq and gender inequality establishes a “U”-shaped connection between income and gender inequality. Thus, it supports the hypothesis of the GKC. Therefore, this study proposes that decreasing energy poverty is vital for promoting a clean environment and mitigating gender inequality.

This study supports the hypothesis of the GKC. Therefore, this study proposes that decreasing energy poverty is vital for promoting a clean environment and mitigating gender inequality.

The main purpose of this research is to examine the impact of institutional quality and sectoral employment on environmental degradation in developing countries. This paper also re-examined the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis and estimated the long run impact of explanatory variables on CO₂ emissions.

In this paper, the balanced panel data for the period 2002–2016 was used based on data availability and applied two-step SYS-GMM estimators.

The results showed that institutional quality such as government effectiveness (GE) and the rule of law (RL) reduce CO₂ emissions and promote environmental quality in developing countries. Interestingly, the authors found new evidence that employment in agriculture and industry has a positive impact on pollution, while employment in the service sector was negatively associated with CO₂ emissions, and the validity of the EKC hypothesis was confirmed. In addition, the research suggests that strong institutional frameworks and their effective implementation are the most important panacea and should be treated as a top priority to counteract environmental degradation and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This is the first study to examine the short run and long run effects of institutional quality and sectoral employment on environmental degradation using the balanced panel data for a large sample of developing countries. This paper also used a special technique of Driscoll and Kraay standard error approach to confirm the robustness results and showed the different roles of sectoral employment on environmental quality.

Considering the inherent relationship between environmental degradation and the process of economic development, the latter is particularly reliant on the accumulation of human capital, which also emerges as one of the fundamental principles underlying green growth. However, this relationship tends to overlook varying levels of human capital. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the enduring associations between the stock of high human capital and green economies in terms of environmental sustainability among the key countries in the Asia Pacific region, namely Australia, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, spanning the period from 1990 to 2022.

This paper employs second-generation techniques. The long-term relationships were estimated using two constantly updated models - fully modified and bias corrected, CUP-FM and CUP-BC, respectively, to guarantee the robustness of our conclusions for the presence of cross-sectional dependency.

There is a long-term relationship between the stock of high human capital and the sustainability of the environment, in the same way that we have also found the same relationship between the development of socioeconomic practices of green economies. Finally, we conclude that, in the same way as the environmental Kuznets curve, the countries in our sample incur less environmental pollution as their level of income increases. This relationship may be motivated by a process of technological substitution and investment in the development of new techniques and technology to improve the efficiency of productivity with respect to the environment.

We suggest that investing in education and promoting green economies can be powerful tools in the fight against climate change and promoting environmental sustainability. By prioritizing investments in renewable energy and sustainable technologies, policymakers can promote long-term economic and environmental health. Moreover, the findings suggest that promoting education in countries with high levels of environmental pollution can develop the knowledge and skills needed to implement sustainable practices and technologies. Ultimately, these efforts can contribute to improving income, productivity, and society's living conditions while reducing the environmental impact.

This research studies for the first time the load capacity curve hypothesis in determining the effects of the stock of high human capital and green economies on the environment. Consequently, limited papers have used the load capacity factor in the study of the relationships that we propose, especially that of human capital, which has scarcely been studied in relation to its contribution to the environmental fight.

This paper aims to examine the dynamic relationship between economic growth and sustainable development, integrating the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) in 22 Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries across income groups.

Using annual data between 1990 and 2022, the authors apply the cross-correlation coefficient (CCC) approach of Narayan et al. (Economic Modeling, 2016, 53, 388–397) to examine the lead/lag relationship between GDP per capita and sustainable development. This study further validates the findings through a panel Granger causality test and a fixed panel regression model.

This research provides evidence of a U-shaped EKC for only 1 out of 22 (5%) OIC countries. For 13 out of the 22 (59%) OIC countries, increasing income growth is expected to enhance sustainable development in the future. The results show that as income levels rise, there will be a more significant decline in sustainable development for high-income OIC countries in the future than for both middle-income groups, contradicting the EKC hypothesis. The findings from the panel Granger causality and panel regression models also support the CCC results.

This study proposes a reverse version of the EKC hypothesis and contributes to the literature on economic growth and environmental sustainability. With increasing economic growth, the results can assist OIC member governments and policy-makers in designing tailored policies and practical measures for future sustainable development.

This paper aims to assess the moderating role of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the effect of economic complexity on carbon emissions, considering other drivers of carbon emissions such as renewable energy use and economic growth, using data set spanning between 1990 and 2018 in BRICS nations.

This research aims to fill the gap in ongoing literature. Cross-sectional IPS and cross-sectional augmented Dickey–Fuller tests, fully modified ordinary least square, dynamic ordinary least square, fixed effect ordinary least square, Westerlund cointegration and method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) econometric approaches are applied.

The Westerlund cointegration outcomes disclosed long-run interconnectedness between carbon emissions and its drivers. Furthermore, MMQR outcomes disclosed that in each tail (0.1–0.90), economic growth and economic complexity contribute to upsurge in carbon emissions while in each quantile (0.1–0.90) renewable energy abate carbon emissions. Furthermore, we affirmed the pollution-haven and environmental Kuznets curve hypotheses across all quantiles (0.1–0.90). Finally, at all quantiles (0.1–0.90), the joint effect of both FDI inflows and economic complexity reduced carbon emissions. Furthermore, the panel causality outcomes disclosed that all the exogenous variables can predict carbon emissions. Based on the findings, BRICS nation’s policymakers should place a greater emphasis on FDI inflows because it aids in abating environmental degradation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research to test the moderating role of FDI on the effect of economic complexity on carbon emissions. Hence, this research aims to fill the gap in ongoing literature.

Introduction: Investments in environmentally friendly initiatives can bolster infrastructure projects, agricultural methods, and water management systems that improve the ability to withstand climate-related difficulties. Green investments encompass endorsing carbon markets and financial instruments that incentivise reducing emissions. This research helps attain the climate objectives described in sustainable development goal 13 (SDG 13).

Purpose: This chapter aims to investigate the relationship between greenhouse gases (GHG) and gross domestic product (GDP), with the underlying objective of understanding the relevance of green investment for sustainable development.

Methodology: For the analysis, the top five countries: the USA, China, Germany, Japan, and India, were chosen based on the world’s largest economies in 2023, as per their GDP data. For testing the hypothesis, data from the World Bank database during the period 2002-2022 was retrieved and GDP is used as a dependent variable and GHG as an independent variable. For the study, panel data are used, and the Johansen cointegration test and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression are applied.

Findings: In the case of China and India, the null hypothesis has been rejected, which is depicted by the significant and high degree of relation between GHGs and the GDP of these two countries. The null hypothesis is also rejected for the USA and Germany, but it shows a significant and moderate degree of relationship between GHG and GDP. For Japan, the null hypothesis is accepted and reflects a negative relationship between GHG and GDP.

Women’s direct or subtle exclusion from the labour market is still evident, necessitating more rigorous inquiries into the subject matter. The study aims to assess the moderating factors that can boost the inclusion of women participation in the labour market by complementing and actualising the doctrine of the feminist U-shaped hypothesis.

This study is situated within the feminist U-shaped hypothesis and employs the generalised method of moments (GMM) on 38 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

This study validates the U-shaped labour hypothesis and expands on the moderating effects of the U-shaped curve in 38 SSA countries.

The study contributes to the influences of human capital development and technological access that can significantly improve the workings of the feminist U- hypothesis in SSA countries.

The study investigates the effect of uncertainty on gender equality and examines the policies and institutional qualities that matter for mitigating the effect.

The research employs a Generalized Method of Moment model and data from 45 developing countries covering the period between 2005 and 2021. The estimation covers a wide range of specifications.

The study finds that uncertainty undermines gender equality. However, economic management policies, public sector management and institutions and policies for social inclusion and equity directly promote gender equality, and indirectly moderate the effect of uncertainty on gender equality. The result also establishes the existence of a Gender Kuznets Hypothesis.

The study offers pioneering evidence on the nexus between uncertainty, gender equality, public policies and institutional qualities. It explores the direct and indirect relationship between these variables using 18 different measures. The study offers interesting insights and implications for the gender economics literature.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2023-0892