Economic growth and air quality influences on energy sources depletion, forest sources and health in MENA

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between energy-resource depletion, health and the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in the panel for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries over 2005-2017 period. To sturdy inferences, the panel Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach was employed to estimate the model's parameters. Four regression equations were estimated with the dependent variables of energy-forest resource depletion, tuberculosis (TB) incidence, and health care expenditures. Results confirmed the existence of the EKC hypothesis as an inverted-U shaped and U-shaped relationship between the energy-forest depletion and GDP per capita as a proxy for income, in the Mena countries, respectively. The results of TB incidence and health care expenditures models showed a Monotonic increasingly with a linear relationship of TB incidence and health care expenditures with GDP per capita. The other results indicate that CO2 emissions increases the energy-forest depletion, TB incidence and health care expenditures; energy demand positively is associated with energy depletion and health care costs, also negatively with TB incidence. Moreover, urbanization rate significantly increases the energy depletion and health care costs, and also is high negatively associated with TB incidence. Fossil fuel consumption in Mena countries increases the TB incidence and health care costs. Therefore, the investment must be made more vigorously to use renewable energy and reducing dependences to fossil fuel. Furthermore, it is necessary to prevent the spread of urbanization rates so as to reduce the health care expenditures and increase the lifespan of energy resources. Finally, Implementation of the proper policies by MENA countries to protect forest resources by diversifying economic activities such as agroforestry, ecotourism and scientific researches instead of direct forest resources depletion.