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The agricultural value chain is underpinned by the interdependence of agricultural value added, household consumption and domestic investment. Understanding the complex interactions between these microeconomic outcomes and the uncertainties in the macroeconomic variables of exchange rates, energy prices and sectoral spending remains under-researched. Therefore, this study examines the impact of exchange rate, energy prices and sectoral spending on agricultural value added, household consumption and domestic investment in Nigeria from 1981 to 2020. Using Kernel regularized least squares (KRLS), the results show that the average pointwise marginal effects of exchange rate and agricultural spending are positive, while the average pointwise marginal effect of energy price is significantly negative for the agricultural value-added model. The results also show that the exchange rate, energy prices and agricultural expenditure all have a positive effect on household consumption. Regarding domestic investment, the effect of the exchange rate is positive and statistically insignificant, while the effects of energy prices and agricultural expenditure are negative and statistically significant. The study recommends the need to strengthen the social safety nets currently in place in Nigeria to support households that are vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations. In addition, incentives should be given to households and farmers to help use renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power for agricultural activities. Also, investment in value chains and agribusiness initiatives should be encouraged rather than just in crop production.

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The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries share a common context of critical ecological issues and trans border conflicts that threaten the quality of life and long-term stability of the region. The lack of water and arable land in particular has been a significant aspect of the region's history, but in more recent times, these pressures have grown in correlation with development patterns. Previous studies in this regard based on MENA countries data have failed to capture the holistic impact of the environmental risk factors on health outcomes. This study examines the bearable link between ecology and health outcomes, accounting for the criticality of human capital and energy use in the MENA region. The study employs second generation econometrics methods - system GMM, panel quantile regression via moments, and Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test on panel data covering 2008-2017. The empirical results establish a trade-off between the ecological factors and health outcomes. Specifically, ecological footprint as a measure of environmental quality is positively related to health outcomes, while biocapacity is negatively and insignificantly associated with health outcomes. Both effects of the two environmental factors are undesirable. Furthermore, the results show that human capital has the desired positive and significant effect on health outcomes, while the effect of energy use is negative. Based on the findings, the study provides several policy options that would help to deescalate the pressure on the natural resources.

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Institutional quality largely influences the ways in which economic agents align their production and operational behaviors towards expanding the share of renewable energy in the total energy mix and enhancing environmental performance. This study therefore explores the panel data for the EU-28 countries to assess the dynamic effects of institutional quality, tourism development, financial development, and renewable energy on environmental performance over the period 2002 to 2014. Using a two-step dynamic system generalized method of moments (GMM), the empirical results broadly suggest that institutional quality can be explored to dampen the potential negative effects of tourism and economic growth on environmental performance. In addition, financial development and renewable energy are positively related to environmental performance. This suggests that financial stability and energy consumption transition to renewable energy are necessary requirements to improve environmental performance. The policy implication for this study is that strengthening of institutional quality, financial stability, and adjusting to alternative and clean energy systems are the surest ways to achieve a cleaner and sustainable environment in the EU region.

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The 21st century economic growth is characterized by extensive production and consumption, which increases anthropogenic emissions. However, reducing emission levels require ecological sustainability through innovation and modern technological consideration. This paper investigated not only renewable energy-driven environmental quality but also captured innovation research investment in renewables within the framework of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) model for G-7 countries. The findings confirmed the presence of EKC hypothesis for G-7 countries. In addition, renewable energy and innovation were identified to exert negative effects on ecological footprint. To capture the entire conditional distribution of the ecological footprint, we applied the Method of Moments Quantile Regression with fixed-effects. The results affirmed the negative effects of renewable energy innovation. Besides, their effects were heterogeneous across the quantiles with evidence of diminishing effects from lower to higher quantiles, suggesting that countries with lower levels of ecological footprint are possibly more prone to the environmental deterioration effect of income growth. The results of the causality test support economic growth-induced ecological degradation, growth-induced renewables, and innovation-induced ecological conservation. The results further showed a feedback effect between renewables and ecological footprint, innovation, and income growth as well as innovation and renewables. These findings portend important implications for the realization of carbon-free economies in G-7 countries by 2100.

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Recent economic and environmental literature suggests that the current state of energy use in South Africa amidst rapid growing population is unsustainable. Researchers in this area mostly focus on the effect of fossil energy use on carbon (CO2) emission, which represents only an aspect of environmental quality. In contrast, the current study evaluates the influence of renewable energy use, human capital, and trade on ecological footprint--a more comprehensive measure of environmental quality. To this end, the study employs multiple structural breaks cointegration tests (Maki cointegration tests), dynamic unrestricted error correction model through Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, and VECM Granger causality tests. The results of the Maki cointegration tests reveal the existence of a cointegration between the variables in all the models with evidence of multiple structural breaks. Further, the ARDL results divulge that an increase in renewable energy use, human capital, and trade improves environmental quality through a decrease in ecological footprint, while an increase in income stimulates ecological footprint. Moreover, causal relationship is found, running from all the variables to renewable energy and trade flow in the long run, while in the short run, economic growth causes ecological footprint. Trade is found to Granger-cause human capital, while human capital causes renewable energy. Additionally, human capital, renewable energy, and economic growth are predictors of trade. The study therefore recommends South African policymakers to consider the importance of renewable energy, human capital development, and trade as a policy option to reduce ecological footprint and improve environmental quality.

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The study stipulates phases to observe the proposed mechanism in formulating the travel and leisure industry's recovery strategies. The present pandemic COVID-19 has resulted in global challenges, economic and healthcare crises, and posed spillover impacts on the global industries, including tourism and travel that the major contributor to the service industry worldwide. The tourism and leisure industry has faced the COVID-19 tourism impacts hardest-hit and lies among the most damaged global industries. The leisure and internal tourism indicated a steep decline amounting to 2.86 trillion US dollars, which quantified more than 50% revenue losses. In the first step, the study explores the consequences and settings of the COVID-19 pandemic and how innovation and change can contribute to the tourism industry's revival to the next normal. Thus, the study determines that tourism enterprises and scholars must consider and change the basic principles, main assumptions, and organizational situations related to research and practice framework through rebuilding and establishing the tourism sector. In the second step, the study discusses direct COVID-19 tourism impacts, attitudes, and practices in gaining the leisure industry's boom and recovery. In the third phase, the study proposes to observe the characteristics and COVID-19 tourism consequences on the travel and tourism research. The findings provide insights in regaining the tourism industry's operational activities and offer helpful suggestions to government officials, scholars, and tourism firms to reinvest in the tourism industry to set it back to a normal position.

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Given the palpable fear generated by the threat of COVID-19 pandemic and the bearish sentiments of stock investors, this study represents one of the first efforts towards testing the effect of COVID-19 on the stock market returns-inflation relationship. Specifically, the study investigates the stock market returns-inflation nexus by controlling for the effect of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria from February 27, 2020 to April 30, 2020. Using the estimation procedures based on the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity type models (GARCH (1,1), the GJR-GARCH), and the accounting innovation tests, our results show that COVID-19 increases volatility and distorts the positive relationship between inflation and stock market returns, which tends to negate the Fisher's hypothesis. In addition, the results reveal that the negative effects of COVID-19 on the market returns and its disruption to the stock market returns-inflation relationship may not die away rapidly considering that the duration of the pandemic is unknown. Further, these findings are validated by the innovation accounting tests. Therefore, the study presents to policymakers the consequences of COVID-19 and the urgent need to strengthen the market through collaborative efforts.

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This study investigates the effects of energy consumption, democracy and globalization on environmental degradation in the context of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for South Africa between 1971 and 2014. To this end, the study applies the combined Bayer-Hanck cointegration test and the fully modified ordinary least squares (FM-OLS) estimation approach. The empirical results confirm the presence of cointegration among the variables, and thus validate the EKC hypothesis for South Africa. In addition, while energy consumption increases environmental degradation, the effect of democracy is positively insignificant. The finding also suggests that globalization condenses environmental degradation. The results of the long-run causal relationship divulge that economic growth, energy consumption, democracy and globalization Granger-cause environmental degradation. The results also find causality running from CO2 emissions, economic growth, democracy and globalization to energy consumption. In the short run, a causality is found running from globalization to CO2 emissions, energy consumption to CO2 emissions and globalization to energy consumption. In addition, economic growth is said to Granger-cause democracy while democracy Granger-causes CO2 emissions. These results are validated by the innovation accounting tests.

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The study revisits the position of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in India by incorporating the role of energy consumption and democratic regime in the environmental degradation function for the period 1971-2014. Employing Zivot-Andrews nonstationarity test, Bayer-Hanck cointegration test, autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, and vector autoregressive model (VECM) Granger causality test, the results found the integration order of I(1) and a stable cointegration among the series. The result validates the EKC hypothesis for India and further divulges that while energy consumption increases environmental degradation both in the long run and short run; the effect of democracy in reducing environmental degradation is weak (statistically insignificant) in the long run but strong (statistically significant) in the short run. The finding from the VECM Granger causality test indicates a long-run causality between the fundamental variables and environmental degradation. Furthermore, the results of the short run show a unidirectional Granger causality running from energy consumption to environmental degradation, energy consumption to real income, and energy consumption to square of real income. Therefore, our findings suggest that energy conservation policy should be prioritized towards harnessing energy from clean sources to mitigate environmental degradation and spur economic growth.

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