Urbanization, informal economy, and ecological footprint quality in South Asia

In recent years, South Asian economies have observed rapid urbanization along with expanding informal economy that poses a serious threat to environmental quality. This study examines the impact of urbanization and informal economy on the ecological footprint of selected South Asian countries. Resul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science and pollution research international 2021-12, Vol.28 (47), p.67011-67021
Main Authors: Qayyum, Unbreen, Sabir, Samina, Anjum, Sohail
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic Pollution
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Bangladesh
Carbon Dioxide - analysis
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecological effects
Ecological footprint
Economic Development
Economics
Ecotoxicology
Environment
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental degradation
Environmental Health
Environmental quality
Environmental science
Footprint analysis
Impact analysis
India
Informal economy
Research Article
Statistical analysis
Urbanization
Waste Water Technology
Water Management
Water Pollution Control
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Summary:In recent years, South Asian economies have observed rapid urbanization along with expanding informal economy that poses a serious threat to environmental quality. This study examines the impact of urbanization and informal economy on the ecological footprint of selected South Asian countries. Results indicate that urbanization and informal economy increase the environmental degradation in South Asia and the estimates are statistically significant in the long run. In the short run, urbanization positively affects the ecological footprint in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal except India, while the informal economy also enhances environmental degradation for all the selected countries except Bangladesh. Most surprisingly, the interaction term of urbanization and informal economy has a negative impact on ecological footprint, and the coefficient is statistically significant as well. To combat the environmental issues in South Asia, detailed policy recommendations have been suggested at the end.
ISSN:0944-1344
1614-7499
DOI:10.1007/s11356-021-15111-x