Discovering the evolution of Pollution Haven Hypothesis: A literature review and future research agenda

In order to reduce environmental degradation, there has been an increased focus on identifying the main conftributors to environmental degradation and reducing carbon footprints to promote sustainable development. Although the recent focus on institutional and policy reforms has led to a higher focus on environmental discussion, little is known about the status of research on the Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH). Hence, the current study evaluates the research dynamics of this field by recognizing most central researchers and key publication outlets from the perspectives of most citations and productivity, research directions, common keywords, countries with the highest academic contribution, and changes in research matrices. Our selection of 494 journal articles from the WOS indicates that King Saud University and the University of Wah were the most productive research institutions, and China was the most productive geographical region. Environmental Science & Pollution Research was identified as the most common outlet for research publications. We also identified strong academic cooperation, notably between China and Pakistan. Moreover, the co-occurrence network identified the Pollution Haven Hypothesis and economic growth nexus, trade, pollution haven and developing economies and FDI, carbon emissions, and pollution haven nexus as the three main prevailing research themes. Lastly, we provide useful policy implications to maximize the impact of environmental reforms and avoid environmental degradation.