Institutional Quality, Industrialization, and Environmental Degradation: An Analysis from Selected Asian Countries

Abstract

Environmental pollution is an important problem in both developing and developed economies. The worsening of the environment has to be a direct influence on the quality of human beings, or a danger to the existence of human life. The aim is to examine the factors causing environmental degradation in some selected Asian countries. We investigate the nexus between industrial production, economic growth, institutional quality, and environmental degradation in the selected economies in Asia from 2011 to 2020 by applying the GMM technique. Findings reveal that the increase in industrialization and economic growth increases environmental degradation. Moreover, institutional quality, energy consumption, trade openness, and labor force participation rate are the major causes of environmental degradation in these selected Asian countries. Energy policies should emphasize on supply of better quality energy by using other sources. There is also a need to enhance the efficient use of energy consumption. Some measures should be taken to enhance the growth of the agricultural sector to alleviate environmental pressure. Institutional quality should be improved.