The impact of economic development on environmental sustainability: evidence from the Asian region

This study investigates the relationship between economic development and environmental sustainability (ES) of 42 Asian countries from 2000 to 2017. We propose an ordinary least square (OLS) and fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) model to estimate the result. The OLS estimators of the balanced panel data on the aggregate sample and six subgroups of ecological area evidence some key findings. These are: (i) There is a significant positive linear relationship between economic growth (EG) and ecological footprint (EF); however, the relationship between EG and biocapacity (BC) is nonlinear. (ii) Among the subgroups that build up the land, samples depict a linear relationship with EG in EF and BC cases. (iii) Other than carbon-absorbing land and grazing land in the subgroup of EF, all other subgroups against environmental sustainability parameters show a nonlinear relationship with EG. (iv) The inverted U-shape curve is evident in Asian countries in explaining the relationship between EG and ES, and the impact of development indicator (GDP) on ecological subgroups is heterogeneous. The cointegration tests of the FMOLS model suggest the existence of a long-term relationship between the variables. Finally, the empirical observations show a growing trend of ecological deficit in Asia and advocate rapid policy development for environment-friendly economic development.