Per capita Carbon Dioxide emission in the developing economies: Ccnvergence or divergence? / Siti Ayu Jalil

This study analyzes the convergence of per capita carbon dioxide emission for 126 developing countries situated in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, as well as Asia and the Pacific regions from 1971 to 2009. It employs the current technique proposed by Phillips and Sul (2007) also known as the log-t test. This method is crucial due to its ability to determine the possibility of club convergence that may arise if result shows a divergent pattern. The analysis is significant in order to propose climate change proposals besides being an incentive for developing countries to participate seriously in controlling their emission level. Empirical evidence shows the developing countries portray a convergent pattern of per capita carbon dioxide emissions

Examining the Linkage between Poverty and Macroeconomic Variables in Malaysia: A Co-integration Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to examine the linkage between the macroeconomic variables i.e. gross domestic product per capita (GDP), unemployment (UNE), tourist receipts (TOU), consumer price index (CPI) and poverty rate (POV) in Malaysia from 1969-2014. The econometric techniques used are unit root test and the Johansen Cointegration. The Granger Causality test using Block Exogeneity Wald test was added to analyze the causal relationships between the variables. The unit root test showed that all variables were stationary at first difference and thus the Johansen Co-integration test is an appropriate technique to employ. The evidence from co-integration test indicates that all the five series have three (3) co-integrating equations and significance at 1 percent level of significance. The causality test indicated there is a significant unidirectional causality between POV on GDP, CPI on POV, POV on TOU, GDP on UNE, GDP on TOU and CPI on TOU and bidirectional causality between POV and UNE. This paper is possibly the first to discuss these relationships in Malaysian context using Co-integration analysis. The finding implies that poverty is the key issue that should be addressed to achieve a high-income country status in the year 2020

Impact of kyoto protocol and institutional factors on carbon dioxide emissions in Asia-Pacific Region / Siti Ayu Jalil, Muzafar Shah Habibullah

This study investigates the impact of Kyoto Protocol and four institutional factors i.e. political stability, property rights, corruption and freedom of trade on the growth of per capita CO² emissions in Asia and the Pacific region for the period of 1971-2009. The region consists of East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific islands are the fastest growing economic region and the source of global greenhouse gas emissions. A dynamic panel data model based on the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) technique is utilized to examine these impacts. The findings indicate only Kyoto commitment (Kcom), Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism (Kcdm) and Corruption (COR) describe statistically significant positive effects on CO² emission

Carbon dioxide emission in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region : a dynamic panel data study / Siti Ayu Jalil

This empirical study investigates the determinants of CO2 emission in 18 countries of the Middle East and North African region covering the period from 1971 to 2009. The analysis is based on a dynamic panel data model employing the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique. The potential determinants of carbon emissions identified are per capita gross domestic product, energy usage, energy consumption from fossil fuel, foreign direct investment, urbanization, industrial production, agricultural production and education level. The results show per capita gross domestic product, energy consumption based on fossil fuel, foreign direct investment and agriculture production have significant impact on the growth of carbon emissions in the region

A Conceptual Model for Sustainable Green Port Practices: A Case Study of Northport (Malaysia) Berhad

This paper aims to propose a conceptual model for sustainable green port practices. The port industry is the main gateway of trade around the world. Nowadays, ports do not only focus on business purposes but also non-business purposes specifically environmental concerns surrounding the ports. As the public becomes more engaged with the risks of climate change and the composition of port shareholders changes, the philosophy towards port business has evolved too. The environment has become an in-thing for ports to emphasize the sustainability of their business. It is also the regulation that is implemented by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to protect the environment and community because ports are also the source contributing to pollution. Thus, the introduction of Green Port Initiatives (GPIs) is the best way and resolution to highlight the importance of keeping a safe environment for the future. The study presents the conceptual framework portraying the elements concerning the sustainability of GPIs from the Northport perspective. Firstly, examining the level of awareness of GPIs among the port community; secondly mapping the port GPIs to the six key areas of Green Port Concepts; thirdly, understanding the initial key areas of initiatives which port community is interested in practicing; and fourthly, comparison GPIs at Northport with other port for benchmarking. The findings will provide ideas on the best strategies to implement and sustain the GPIs at Northport (Malaysia) Berhad towards their operation and more significantly meeting the United Nation’s 17 SDGs

Examining the Relationship Between Human Development Index and Socio-Economic Variables: A Panel Data Analysis / Siti Ayu Jalil, Mohamad Nadzrul Kamaruddin

Human Development Index (HDI) measures the average achievements from three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. This study is to investigate the impact of socio-economic variables represented by the three dimensions i.e. mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, gross domestic product, life expectancy and health expenditure on HDI in fifteen selected developing countries within a 5-year period (2010-2014). The panel data analysis tested the pooled regression model, fixed effects and random effects models. The findings indicated that the Panel Fixed Effects Model (FEM) has proven to be the best model to describe the study. From the FEM model, four predictors have shown significant positive effect on human development index which are, the mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, life expectancy and GDP per capita whereas, health expenditure is the only variable that shows insignificant relationship. Hence, it can be stated that in these fifteen selected nations despite education and higher GDP are essential to achieve a higher level of HDI, life expectancy is also perceived as a vital indicator to imply a better level of HDI

Examining the Relationship Between Human Development Index and Socio-Economic Variables: A Panel Data Analysis

Human Development Index (HDI) measures the average achievements from three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. This study is to investigate the impact of socio-economic variables represented by the three dimensions i.e. mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, gross domestic product, life expectancy and health expenditure on HDI in fifteen selected developing countries within a 5-year period (2010-2014). The panel data analysis tested the pooled regression model, fixed effects and random effects models. The findings indicated that the Panel Fixed Effects Model (FEM) has proven to be the best model to describe the study. From the FEM model, four predictors have shown significant positive effect on human development index which are, the mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, life expectancy and GDP per capita whereas, health expenditure is the only variable that shows insignificant relationship. Hence, it can be stated that in these fifteen selected nations despite education and higher GDP are essential to achieve a higher level of HDI, life expectancy is also perceived as a vital indicator to imply a better level of HDI

Drug and Substance Abuse among Youth: A rehabilitation centre in Kuala Lumpur

Drug and substance abuse create a social disorder that would destruct the society. This study examines factors leading to drug abuse among youth in a rehab center located in Kuala Lumpur. Out of 61 respondents surveyed, 71% was Malay, 13% was Chinese, and 10% was Indian and majority of them 80% were male. The study found that there were no significant differences in the mean of social environment, income, law enforcement and peer influence scores among the three ethnic groups. The multiple regression analysis revealed that peer influence was a significant factor leading to drug abuse among the youth.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Drug abuse; youth; ethnicity; peer influenc

Impact of Kyoto Protocol and institutional factors on carbon dioxide emission in Asia-Pacific region

This study investigates the impact of Kyoto Protocol and four institutional factors i.e. political stability, property rights, corruption and freedom of trade on the growth of per capita CO2 emissions in Asia and the Pacific region for the period of 1971-2009. The region consists of East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific islands are the fastest growing economic region and the source of global greenhouse gas emissions. A dynamic panel data model based on the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) technique is utilized to examine these impacts. The findings indicate only Kyoto commitment (Kcom), Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism (Kcdm) and Corruption (COR) describe statistically significant positive effects on CO2 emissions

Determinants and convergence of CO₂ emissions in the developing economies

The year 1991 saw developing countries categorized by the UNFCCC as “Non-Annex I Countries” which represent the countries held responsible for the rapid growth of the world‟s CO2 emissions. The commitment to meet social and economic development goals and the pressures of their huge size of the economy, high energy consumption, large population and exploding growth rates have intensified the growth of carbon emissions in these countries. In this study, a range of factors from socio-economic to institutional aspects, are selected for analysis, which based on theory and previous empirical studies are identified as the potential determinants of carbon emissions. Thus, the first and second objectives of this research are to determine the factors affecting the growth of CO2 emissions in the selected 126 developing countries for the period 1971-2009. The investigation will include analysis based on regions i.e. Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa and Asia and the Pacific. The study analyzes a dynamic panel model utilizing the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique. The results on socio-economic factors found that GDP per capita, energy consumption from fossil fuels (EFF), energy usage (EUS), inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI), urbanization (URB), industrial production (IND), agriculture production (AGR) and level of education (EDU) have shown a highly significant impact on the growth of carbon emissions in the entire developing region. All these factors indicated a highly significant positive relationship with per capita CO2 emissions except for urbanization which had a negative relationship. In all four regions studied, GDP per capita and EFF have been illustrated to be the most significant factors affecting growth of carbon emissions. The analysis on institutional aspects is focused on the Kyoto Protocol, political stability, legal structure and property rights, corruption and freedom of trade on CO2 emissions. The results showed that the Kyoto commitment (Kcom) to be the sole indicator with a negative and statistically significant relationship which can be interpreted to mean that signing and ratifying the Protocol is not an indication of intention to reduce carbon emission. The four institutional factors analyzed did not portray any significant relationships with the growth of CO2 emissions in the region. The final objective was to examine the existence of convergence of the per capita CO2 emissions which was crucial to come up with appropriate suggestions for policy implementation and the implications of CO2 emissions in the region. Based on the Phillips and Sul‟s (2007) log-t model, it is seen that per capita CO2 emission levels do converge for the whole developing region. However, on a regional basis, only Latin America and the Caribbean exhibited convergence in CO2 per capita while the other regions showed a divergence. Nevertheless the three regions which displayed divergence portrayed certain characteristics of club convergences. Firstly, only a small number of club convergences were identified for each region. Secondly, a majority of these countries were in the divergence category. Finally, each of the club convergences was found to be in congruence with income classifications. In other words high income countries form one club while low income countries form another. The discussion on policy implications was focused on existing policies that could be appropriately implemented to control increases in CO2 emissions. The evaluation was based on the findings of the determinants in each region and from the perspective of the club convergences identified. The findings on all regions indicate that GDP per capita and energy consumption from fossil fuel (EFF) have significant effects on carbon emissions. However, energy consumption (EUS) per se was found to significant only for the LAC and the Asia-Pacific regions. A uniform policy may thus not be suitable to control the problem of emissions in these regions. A better method would be to consider each club of countries whose emissions are converging to similar levels. According to Burnett (2013) understanding different clubs of countries whose emissions are converging at similar levels will help policymakers to develop differentiated policies. Since these nations are highly dependent on fossil fuels, it is best to implement an array of energy policies that may have direct or indirect effects on reducing CO2 emissions (Dinica, 2002). Thus, it is suggested that a good starting point for these nations may be to focus on energy conservation policies. Energy conservation policies could be in the form of energy savings and introduction of alternative sources of energy through participation in CDM projects to promote clean energy development such as hydroelectric, geothermal, nuclear, biomass, wind and solar. Other policies like deforestation, strengthening regulations and environmental laws together with strict enforcement can be implemented in each region or country but may depend on their economic circumstances and societal awareness of issues related to environmental problems. This study attempts to meticulously analyze the growth of CO2 emissions in 126 developing economies that cover one third of the countries in the world. As future large emitters these countries‟ efforts to cut CO2 emissions will be vital. The researcher found that there has not been any comprehensive analysis of CO2 emissions involving developing economies on such a big scale. Application of a dynamic panel model such as the generalized method of moments (GMM) econometric technique is still relatively new for a scope of study of this size. Further, convergence analysis of per capita CO2 emissions is crucial to guide policymakers‟ projection models when preparing climate change policy proposals. As such it is hoped that any information gained through this study will be helpful for policymakers, specifically the scenarios on carbon emissions from the perspective of developing countries which may help create awareness that are useful in combating the problem of climate change in the future