Revising the tourism-induced environment Kuznets curve hypothesis in top 8 Asian economies: the role of ICT and renewable energy consumption

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to emphasize economic complexity, tourism, information and communication technology (ICT), renewable energy consumption and foreign direct investment (FDI) as the determinants of carbon emissions.

Design/methodology/approach

These economies rely on the tourism sector, and Asian countries rank among the top tourism economies worldwide in terms of tourism receipts. This study uses a series of empirical estimators, i.e. cross-sectional augmented auto-regression distributive lag and panel cointegration, to validate the main hypotheses.

Findings

The econometric results confirm an inverted U-shaped association between economic complexity and carbon emissions, validating the economic complexity index induced environment Kuznets curve hypothesis for the selected Asian economies.

Research limitations/implications

Finally, the empirical results admit articulating some imperative policy suggestions to attain a sustainable environment on behalf of outcomes.

Practical implications

Furthermore, ICT and renewable energy consumption are environment-friendly indicators, while FDI and the international tourism industry increase environmental pressure in selected countries. In addition, this study also explores the interaction between renewable energy and ICT with FDI and their effects on carbon emissions. Interestingly, both interaction terms positively respond to the environmental correction process.

Originality/value

Because ICT with FDI may not reduce environmental pollution unless the energy used in FDI projects is greener. Moreover, in Asian economies, industrial and other sectors could increase environmental quality via the role of ICT in FDI.

修正亚洲前 8 大经济体的旅游环境库兹涅茨曲线假设：ict 和可再生能源消耗的作用

研究设计/方法/途径

这些经济体依赖旅游业, 就旅游收入而言, 亚洲国家在全球旅游经济体中名列前茅。本研究使用一系列经验估计量, 即 CS-ARDL 和面板协整来验证我们的主要假设。

研究目的

本文强调经济复杂性、旅游、信息和通信技术 (ICT)、可再生能源消费和外国直接投资 (FDI) 作为碳排放的决定因素

研究发现

计量经济学结果证实了经济复杂性与碳排放之间的倒 U 型关联, 验证了 ECI 对选定亚洲经济体的环境库兹涅茨曲线 (EKC) 假设。

研究限制/影响

最后, 实证结果承认阐明了一些必要的政策建议, 以代表结果实现可持续环境。

实践意义

此外, 信息通信技术和可再生能源消耗是环境友好型指标, 而外国直接投资和国际旅游业增加了选定国家的环境压力。此外, 本研究还探讨了可再生能源和 ICT 与外国直接投资之间的相互作用及其对碳排放的影响。有趣的是, 这两个交互项都对环境校正过程做出了积极响应。

研究原创性/价值

ICT 与 FDI 可能不会减少环境污染, 除非 FDI 项目中的能源使用更环保。此外, 在亚洲经济体中, 工业和其他部门可以通过 ICT 在 FDI 中的作用提高环境质量。

关键词

环境库兹涅茨曲线; 外商直接投资;信息和通信技术; 可再生能源;旅游;亚洲主要旅游经济体

文章类型： 研究型论文

Citation

Shah, S.A.R., Balsalobre-Lorente, D., Radulescu, M., Zhang, Q. and Hussain, B. (2022), "Revising the tourism-induced environment Kuznets curve hypothesis in top 8 Asian economies: the role of ICT and renewable energy consumption", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-02-2022-0064