| Abstract: |
This paper employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds
methodological approach to investigate the relationship between economic
growth, combustible renewables and waste consumption, carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions and international tourism for the case of Tunisia spanning the
period 1990-2010. The results from the Fisher statistic of both the Wald-test
and the Johansen test confirm the presence of a long-run relationship among
the variables under investigation. The stability of estimated parameters has
been tested, while Granger causality tests recommend a short-run
unidirectional causality running from economic growth and combustible
renewables and waste consumption to CO2 emissions, a bidirectional causality
between economic growth and combustible renewables and waste consumption and
unidirectional causality running from economic growth and combustible
renewables and waste consumption to international tourism. In the long-run,
the error correction terms confirm the presence of bidirectional causality
relationships between economic growth, CO2 emissions, combustible renewables
and waste consumption and international tourism. Our long-run estimates show
that combustible renewables and waste consumption increases international
tourism, and both renewables and waste consumption and international tourism
increase CO2 emissions and output. We recommend that: (i) Tunisia should use
more combustible renewables and waste energy as this eliminates wastes from
especially tourist zones and increases the number of tourist arrivals, leading
to economic growth, and (ii) a fraction of this economic growth generated by
the increase in combustible renewables and waste consumption should be
invested in clean renewable energy production (i.e., solar, wind, geothermal)
and energy efficiency projects. |