Deciphering the connection: Exploring the relationship between finance, trade, and urbanization in the ecological fabric of African economies

This study contributes to the Sustainable Development Goal 15 by examining the dynamics of balancing the ecological footprint and meeting fundamental human needs in terms of food and shelter. The analysis utilizes a panel dataset comprising 9 countries with ecological deficits, covering the period f...

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Main Authors: Kingsley I. Okere, Ismail O. Fasanya
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Sustainable Environment
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/27658511.2025.2454747
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author Kingsley I. Okere
Ismail O. Fasanya
author_facet Kingsley I. Okere
Ismail O. Fasanya
author_sort Kingsley I. Okere
collection DOAJ
description This study contributes to the Sustainable Development Goal 15 by examining the dynamics of balancing the ecological footprint and meeting fundamental human needs in terms of food and shelter. The analysis utilizes a panel dataset comprising 9 countries with ecological deficits, covering the period from 1971 to 2022. The estimators employed in the study are robust to cross-sectional dependence and allow for heterogeneous slope coefficients. The findings, based on the FE-DK and MMQR models, provide empirical evidence supporting the ecological deficit hypothesis. The validity of the ecological deficit hypothesis is verified by the inverted U-shaped nexus between economic growth and ecological deficits. Finance plays a mitigating role in reducing the ecological deficit for food, but it is associated with higher levels of deficit for shelter, particularly at the upper quantile. Trade openness exacerbates the ecological deficit for food, but it helps reduce the deficit for shelter. Robustness analysis, conducted using the half-panel jackknife multivariate Wald-type test, confirms that the covariates exhibit Granger-causal relationships with the ecological deficit. Bidirectional causal relationships are observed between the ecological deficit for food and squared economic growth. Additionally, bidirectional relationships exist between trade and urban population and the ecological footprint for shelter. The findings offer useful insights for policymakers and stakeholders that are working towards achieving sustainable development.
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spelling doaj-art-201f5946ac644417990cf939bd678b322025-01-27T06:56:17ZengTaylor & Francis GroupSustainable Environment2765-85112025-12-0111110.1080/27658511.2025.2454747Deciphering the connection: Exploring the relationship between finance, trade, and urbanization in the ecological fabric of African economiesKingsley I. Okere0Ismail O. Fasanya1School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaSchool of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaThis study contributes to the Sustainable Development Goal 15 by examining the dynamics of balancing the ecological footprint and meeting fundamental human needs in terms of food and shelter. The analysis utilizes a panel dataset comprising 9 countries with ecological deficits, covering the period from 1971 to 2022. The estimators employed in the study are robust to cross-sectional dependence and allow for heterogeneous slope coefficients. The findings, based on the FE-DK and MMQR models, provide empirical evidence supporting the ecological deficit hypothesis. The validity of the ecological deficit hypothesis is verified by the inverted U-shaped nexus between economic growth and ecological deficits. Finance plays a mitigating role in reducing the ecological deficit for food, but it is associated with higher levels of deficit for shelter, particularly at the upper quantile. Trade openness exacerbates the ecological deficit for food, but it helps reduce the deficit for shelter. Robustness analysis, conducted using the half-panel jackknife multivariate Wald-type test, confirms that the covariates exhibit Granger-causal relationships with the ecological deficit. Bidirectional causal relationships are observed between the ecological deficit for food and squared economic growth. Additionally, bidirectional relationships exist between trade and urban population and the ecological footprint for shelter. The findings offer useful insights for policymakers and stakeholders that are working towards achieving sustainable development.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/27658511.2025.2454747Financetradeand Urbanizationecological deficitAfrican
spellingShingle Kingsley I. Okere
Ismail O. Fasanya
Deciphering the connection: Exploring the relationship between finance, trade, and urbanization in the ecological fabric of African economies
Sustainable Environment
Finance
trade
and Urbanization
ecological deficit
African
title Deciphering the connection: Exploring the relationship between finance, trade, and urbanization in the ecological fabric of African economies
title_full Deciphering the connection: Exploring the relationship between finance, trade, and urbanization in the ecological fabric of African economies
title_fullStr Deciphering the connection: Exploring the relationship between finance, trade, and urbanization in the ecological fabric of African economies
title_full_unstemmed Deciphering the connection: Exploring the relationship between finance, trade, and urbanization in the ecological fabric of African economies
title_short Deciphering the connection: Exploring the relationship between finance, trade, and urbanization in the ecological fabric of African economies
title_sort deciphering the connection exploring the relationship between finance trade and urbanization in the ecological fabric of african economies
topic Finance
trade
and Urbanization
ecological deficit
African
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/27658511.2025.2454747
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