The effect of gender equality on the carbon intensity of well-being: panel data analysis for the MENA economies 1995-2018
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCEFTS-09-2021-0060 |
| Published date | 31 January 2022 |
| Date | 31 January 2022 |
| Pages | 239-260 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,International economics |
| Author | Hanan Sileem,Iman Al-Ayouty |
The effect of gender equality on
the carbon intensity of well-being:
panel data analysis for the MENA
economies 1995-2018
Hanan Sileem
Department of Economics, Sadat Academy for Management Sciences,
Cairo, Egypt, and
Iman Al-Ayouty
Department of Economics, Misr International University, Cairo, Egypt
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to explorethe ecological efficiency through assessingthe relation of the “carbon
intensity of well-being”(CIWB)to gender equality, gross domestic product (GDP)/capita,the urban intensity
of the population, the age structure of the population,foreign direct investment as a percentage of GDP and
manufacturingas a percentage of GDP.
Design/methodology/approach –CIWB equation is estimatedfor a panel of 18 MENA economies and
Turkey over the period 1995–2018 using the two-way fixed effects Prais–Winsten regression with panel-
correctedstandard errors.
Findings –The elasticitycoefficients obtained from the estimated models indicatedmixed effects on CIWB.
While the increase of femaleeducational attainment, accompanied with an increase in the femalelabor force
participation rate, reduce CIWB, the younger female population and the younger population, in general,
increase CIWB. Furthermore, while increasing FDI inflows reduces CIWB, increasing the manufacturing
share of GDP increasesCIWB.
Originality/value –The pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals worldwide has moved the relevant literature
on climate change mitigation and adaptation measures to a new level, where using the CIWB method is increasingly
used to reflect carbon dioxide emissions per capita unit of expected lifespan. The present paper’s contribution to the
literature is two-fold: one is computing and estimating the CIWB to examine ecological efficiency for the middle east
and north africa (MENA) economies and Turkey over the period of study; and two is integrating and validating the
beneficial impacts of integrating the gender equality dimension in the CIWB–climatechange literature.
Keywords Climate change, Gender equality, Carbon intensity of well-being,
Sustainable development goals
Paper type Research paper
The authors acknowledge that the analysis conducted in this paper is not free of limitations, primarily data
availability. Though authors indicated that missing data points were obtained via linear interpolation to
satisfy having a balanced panel, data for some variables were altogether missing. For example, having data
for females holding parliamentary positions would have shed light on the gender implications for the
environment, as evidenced in recent empirical literature. Moreover, with the data available and
interpolation, the authors were still only able to conduct estimations with some limitations (Model (1)
excludes an independent variable and two of the MENA countries, and Model (2) excludes three of the
MENA countries). Finally, the estimated model was of homogeneous slopes, while one with heterogeneous
slopes would have allowed us to obtain country-specific results (provided this specification is found to be
appropriate for the panel data at hand). This may, however, open the door for further exploration of the
gender–environmental degradation relation.
Effect of
gender
equality
239
Journalof Chinese Economic and
ForeignTrade Studies
Vol.15 No. 3, 2022
pp. 239-260
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1754-4408
DOI 10.1108/JCEFTS-09-2021-0060
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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Introduction
The controversy over issues of climate change has participated in diversifying the climate
change literature. In turn, this diversification has enriched the economics of mitigation and
adaptation measures and has arranged the appropriate set up for the growing focus on
achieving sustainable development.Since climate change is a global issue, the international
debate has raised controversial challenges which economies are facing every day, namely,
global warming and to the increase in the greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions. These are
expected to affect mostly the vulnerable regions and particularly the endogenous groups,
e.g. poor children and women. In recent years, there has been further international concern
for the consequences of GHGs for the world economy and for the sustainability of natural
resources for future generations.
Many initiatives have been adopted by international bodies such as the
IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change and the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change to address the consequences of climatechange for the economies and to
formulate mitigation and adaptation measures. In this context, and particularly, since the
World Commission on Environment and Development have formulated a more
comprehensive concept for sustainable development in 1987, it became clearthat achieving
sustainable development became a true main target for all the world economies. This has
been due to many factors, first of which is that achieving sustainable development
addresses both the needs of current and future generations for a satisfactory well-being
lifestyle. Second, the pillars of sustainable development include various interconnected
social, economic and environmental perspectives that cannot be fulfilled individually or
independentlyof each other (Sileem, 2020).
In 2000, the UN summit adopted the Millennium Declaration which identified eight
Millennium Development Goals. However, the recognition of the interrelationship between
the sustainable development pillars is one of the major drives for adopting the new 17 UN
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)in 2015. Nations that signed the treaty are required
to achieve these SDGs before2030. Equality, as a key characteristic of populations, is carried
out through several SDGs; where each goal includes several targets set for improving
human well-being while also mitigating the environmental change impacts and reducing
social inequalities.
Building the national capacity to have a healthy and productive life with an appropriate
education, work and future, is the most imminent issue that shapes a comprehensive
definition of human well-being (Goal#3, #4, #5, #13), irrespective of gender, of the region
being urban or rural, of the distribution of population or of the level of income. Although
research demonstrates that the increase in the GHGs emissions typically increases with
economic development (Jorgenson, 2014), yet international entities and most governments
believe economic development is essential for achieving higher standards of living and
improving human well-being(Ergas et al., 2021).
Understanding the relationship between economic development and carbon intensity of
well-being (CIWB) is essential to fulfill this objective. CIWB is a ratio that measures the
amount of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of life expectancy at birth. Several scholars
argue that analyses focusing on the impacts of economic development on CIWB can create
better ways to reflect the changes of their relationshipover time and across different levels
of economic development. This is key in deriving significant policy implications for
mitigating climate change according to the unique characteristics of each economy
(Jorgenson and Givens,2015;Jorgenson, 2014;Jorgenson and Clark, 2012).
The proposition is as follows: if, on the one hand, economic development leads to
reductions in CIWB, proceeding with economic growth will contribute to enhancing
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