Studying the relationship between women and the environment in developing countries
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCEFTS-09-2021-0056 |
| Published date | 24 May 2022 |
| Date | 24 May 2022 |
| Pages | 298-315 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,International economics |
| Author | Hoda Hassaballa |
Studying the relationship between
women and the environment
in developing countries
Hoda Hassaballa
Department of Economics, The British University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a unidirectional or a bidirectional
relationshipbetween women and the environment, and to furtherstudy the effect of women on environmental
quality.
Design/methodology/approach –To achieve this purpose, a Granger causality test and a random
effects panel data model are used to study women–environment relationship in developing countries.Error
correction model (ECM) is the chosen estimation technique. A Granger causality testis used because of its
frequentuse in examiningthe existence of a unidirectional or a bidirectional relationship betweentwo or more
variables. A random effects panel data model is used as it has proven to be more efficient than the fixed-
effects paneldata model.
Findings –Women Granger-cause environmental quality while the opposite is not true in developing
countries in thelong run. This indicates the existence of a unidirectionalrelationship between women and the
environment when the long-run relationshipis considered. However, when considering the long- and short-
run relationship together, the results indicate the presence of a bidirectional relationship. The empirical
results of the random effectspanel data model through ECM estimation indicate the positive effect of women
on improving environmental quality as illustrated by the coefficient of the current change of women. This
shows that women are concerned about environmental degradation. In addition, the empirical results
highlight the persistenceof CO
2
emissions. Resultsalso confirm that foreign direct investment inflowslead to
further environmental degradation. However, education and trade openness coefficients are found
insignificantat the current period.
Research limitations/implications –The research results have great implications on women
empowerment, the reduction of gender bias and the increase in government expenditure on women’s
educationand health because of women’s positive effect in improving environmentalquality.
Originality/value –To the best of the author’s knowledge, this isthe first paper that examines the two-
way relationshipbetween women and the environmentand, hence, it fills the gap present in the literature.
Keywords Women, Environmental quality, Granger causality test, Error correction model,
Developing countries, Random effects panel data model
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Nowadays there is a growing concern about environmental quality. People all over the
world are starting to not only see but feel the hazards of environmental degradation.
Environmental issues have been accumulating for a long period of time. Industrialization,
economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI), heavy use of fossil fuels and wrong
consumption patterns carry most of the blame. In sum, global environmental issues such as
global warming, rise in pollution emissions level, ozone depletion and loss of biodiversity
are mainly anthropogenic, a result of wrong production and consumption patterns of
humans. Substantial research has been conducted to study the factors affecting
environmental quality. A relatively recent development in environmental economics is the
JCEFTS
15,3
298
Journalof Chinese Economic and
ForeignTrade Studies
Vol.15 No. 3, 2022
pp. 298-315
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1754-4408
DOI 10.1108/JCEFTS-09-2021-0056
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1754-4408.htm
focus on the effect of women on environmental quality. The interest in studying this
relationship was evident earlierin other disciplines such as sociology and psychology but it
is considered relatively new in environmental economics. A considerable strand in the
literature discusses the positive impact of women on the environment. This is usually
attributed to women’s sense of responsibility towards their children as caregivers, their
experience and/or their multiplier effect on their children (McStay and Dunlap,1983; and
Todaro and Smith, 2020). On the other hand,there is an opposing view stating that men are
more environmentally concerned because of being more aware and financially capable of
demanding expensive greengoods (Eisler et al.,2003;Xiao and Hong, 2010). Hence, women–
environment relationship is a debatable issue. As a step towards settling this debate, the
main objective of the research is to study the relationshipof women and the environment, its
nature and its directionfrom an economic perspective to have a better understandingof this
relationship.
To reach this end, severalresearch questions are addressed such as:
RQ1. Is there a relationship between women and the environment in developing
countries?
RQ2. If so, is it a unidirectionalor a bidirectional relationship?
And what is the nature of women and environmentrelationship? To answer these questions,
a Granger causality test and a random effects panel data model are used (Granger, 1969).
This is applied in a sample of 33 developing countries in the period 1980–2018 for Granger
causality test and a sample of 18 developing countries in the period 1987–2018 for the
random effects panel data model because of data availability. A Granger causality test is
used because of its ease in examining the existence of a unidirectional or a bidirectional
relationship between two or more variables. It can be used through several estimation
techniques such as ordinaryleast squares or error correction model (ECM; Hassaballa, 2014).
It has been commonly used in several environmental economics research work such as that
of Hoffmann et al. (2005),Lee (2009) and Hassaballa(2014). Developing countries are chosen
to be studied because of the dire environmental condition in many developing countries
because of poor water quality, sanitation,high pollution emissions level and toxic chemicals
which have great health impact. As mentioned in the World Health Organization [The
World Health Organization (WHO) Report, 2021] report on “Environment and Health in
Developing Countries”, the poor environmental quality in developing countries is the main
reason behind spread of diseases and increasein the number of deaths and disabilities. “The
resulting impacts are estimatedto cause about 25% of death and disease globally, reaching
nearly 35% in regions such as sub-SaharanAfrica”[The World Health Organization (WHO)
Report, 2021][
1]. Hence, it is of vital importance to study women and environment
relationship specifically, and to study the determinants of environmental quality generally
so as to reduce further environmentaldegradation in developing countries.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2 reviews the literature in which
theoretical and empirical reviews are given. Section 3 explains Granger causality test and
the model used. Section 4 displays the empirical results. Section 5 provides conclusion and
policy implications.
2. Literature review
Many theories have been developed to explain the relationship between women and the
environment. Becauseof the diversity and the richness of women–environment relationship,
sociological, psychological and economic theories were formulated. These theories can be
Women and
the
environment
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