Refugees, governance, and sustainable environment: PQARDL method

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Economics
• Development Studies

Background:

• Environmental degradation is a critical global challenge.
• The impact of refugees and governance on sustainable environments is under-researched.
• Socio-economic factors like economic growth and energy consumption are key environmental drivers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the complex relationships between refugees, governance, economic growth, energy consumption, and environmental sustainability.
• To analyze these dynamics in selected developing countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Uganda).
• To identify causal links between governance, refugees, and environmental indicators like GHG emissions and deforestation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized panel quantile autoregressive distributed lag (PQARDL) for long-run analysis.
• Employed causality tests (traditional and Dumitrescu-Hurlin) to determine directional relationships.
• Data spanned the period 1996-2019 for seven countries.

Main Results:

• Confirmed long-run relationships between environmental sustainability, refugees, governance, economic growth, and energy consumption.
• Found unidirectional causality from political and economic governance to GHG emissions and deforestation.
• Established unidirectional causality from refugee populations to GHG emissions and deforestation.

Conclusions:

• Governance and refugee influx are significant drivers of environmental degradation (GHG emissions, deforestation).
• Policy interventions must consider the interplay of governance, refugee situations, and economic activities for sustainable environmental management.
• The findings highlight the need for integrated approaches to environmental policy in developing nations.