Strategic socioeconomic planning to address ecological footprints in an uncertain economic landscape

Abstract

The flux of economic policy uncertainty casts a long shadow over the ecological footprint, amplifying the risk and the urgency for strategic planning that harmonizes economic stability with environmental stewardship. This complex interplay necessitates a reassessment of how economic strategies can be sculpted to mitigate environmental risks and foster sustainability. This research evaluates the asymmetric impact of economic policy uncertainty on the ecological footprints in the top 10 polluted nations (China, USA, India, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, France, and Mexico) from 2001 to 2022. Prior studies relied on panel data methods without accounting for the unique features of individual economies. Conversely, the present investigation implements the Quantile-on-Quantile methodology to delve into the interconnection between the variables within each country. This sophisticated methodology enriches the exactness of our evaluation, providing a thorough worldwide standpoint and uncovering precise insights tailored to the distinctive attributes of each particular country. The outcomes disclose that economic policy uncertainties reduce ecological footprints across diverse quantiles in the selected economies. Additionally, the findings underscore multiple behaviors in these correlations across several quantiles. These results highlight the need for policymakers to take extensive measures to address the deviating impacts of economic policy uncertainty on ecological sustainability.