Diversified imports as catalysts for ecological footprint: examining the BRICS experience

Abstract

In the preceding years, the rapid industrial growth in the BRICS nations has widened the scope for imported technology and other factor inputs. The literature suggests that these kinds of economic developments often exert negative pressure on the established ecosystem. In order to confirm this notion, therefore, in the present study, we examined the impact of import product diversification and import concentration on ecological footprint in the BRICS nations using the annual data ranging from 1995 to 2018. By addressing the possibility of cross-country convergence, the elasticity coefficients are calculated using the cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag procedure. Industrial value-added, technological innovations and renewable energy solutions are considered as the controlled variables. The empirical results revealed that diversified imports led to an increase in ecological footprints, whereas concentrated imports helped in controlling ecological footprints. As expected, the increased industrial production elevated ecological footprints, whereas the association between renewable energy solutions and ecological footprints is found negative and significant. Based on the association between ecological footprint and its drivers, we endorsed an SDG-based policy framework where interdependency among various SDGs is being considered.