Hydropower, human capital, urbanization and ecological footprints nexus in China and Brazil: evidence from quantile ARDL

The relations among ecological footprints, biocapacity per capita, gross domestic product per capita, natural resources, urbanization, human capital, and hydroelectric consumption are analyzed from 1971Q1 to 2017Q4 for Brazil and China. The novel quantile autoregressive distributive lag method was employed to analyze the long-run and short-run dynamics of environmental degradation. The findings revealed that economic growth has a positive role in the environmental degradation of both countries. However, human capital, natural resources, and hydropower have heterogeneous effects across quantile distribution and between the two countries. Based on the quantile dynamics of environmental degradation, the present study mentions policy implications for sustainable development.

Automated summary

This study analyzes the relationships among ecological footprints, biocapacity per capita, gross domestic product per capita, natural resources, urbanization, human capital, and hydroelectric consumption for Brazil and China from 1971Q1 to 2017Q4. The novel quantile autoregressive distributive lag method is used to analyze the long-run and short-run dynamics of environmental degradation. The findings reveal that economic growth plays a positive role in the environmental degradation of both countries, but human capital, natural resources, and hydropower have heterogeneous effects across quantile distribution and between the two countries. Based on the quantile dynamics of environmental degradation, this study suggests policy implications for sustainable development.