The effect of trade and institutions on pollution in the Arab countries

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of trade and institutional quality on pollution in the Arab countries. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based in fixed estimation procedure. It utilises cross‐country data for 13 Arab countries into a reduced form equation. Findings The empirical findings provide strong evidence that across the Arab countries, trade, industrial activity and income have a positive effect on pollution. The test of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is found to be negative, providing strong support for the EKC hypothesis. The results also provide strong evidence that regulatory quality has a significant negative effect on pollution. Originality/value This paper makes a new contribution on the effect of trade and institutional quality on emission levels in the Arab countries.