Examining the dynamic nexus between industry 4.0 technologies and sustainable economy: New insights from empirical evidence using GMM estimator across 20 OECD nations

A new era of smart technologies has emerged, where humans and machines collaborate and work together side by side. The use of advanced technologies will undoubtedly increase, and nations face a difficult mission to maintain a balance between tremendous technological growth and a sustainable development strategy, which primarily encompasses economic growth, social well-being, and environmental considerations. For this reason, the paper explores the effects of Industry 4.0 on the sustainable economy for 20 OECD countries for the period [2011-2021]. To do this, We utilize several variables to represent Industry 4.0 technologies. These include ICT patents, reflecting a high level of interconnectedness; environmental patents, demonstrating the green aspect of Industry 4.0; AI patents, which form the core of digitalization strategies due to their capacity for automation and operational visibility; and high-technology exports, signifying a country's advancement in the technology market. The main findings reveal a positive and significant impact of environmental patents and the number of researchers on economic growth and renewable energy consumption, while ICT patents and AI patents have a negative effect on the employment rate.