Environmental degradation in terms of health expenditure, education and economic growth. Evidence of novel approach

Abstract

Physical education benefits health and the environment because the world takes long-term steps to stop environmental degradation and its effects. Therefore, the present study examined the impact of health expenditure, education, economic growth, and population on environmental degradation in seven emerging economies from 2000 to 2019. The cross-sectional dependency (CSD) reflected the panel nations’ CSD, whereas the second-generation panel unit root test confirmed all indicators’ stationarity at first difference. Thus, the second-generation cointegration approach identified a long-term equation among the CO2, health expenditure, education, economic growth and population. The long-run empirical estimations derived from the PFMLOS and PDOLS method emphasized that education increases the region’s environmental sustainability and decreases CO2 emissions. Conversely, health expenditure, economic growth, and population increase CO2 emissions and reduce environmental quality in the E-7 bloc. Moreover, our findings are resilient to alternative measures by AMG and CCEMG, which might help policymakers develop long- and short-term initiatives for environmental protection. The study suggests adopting physical education and physical health activities to curb environmental degradation in the panel region.