Environmental pollution in Asian economies: Does the industrialisation matter?

Abstract Industrialisation is a significant part of any country's economic development. This study discusses the relationship between industrialisation and carbon dioxide emissions for Asian economies. The industrialisation has a major impact on carbon emissions, but its relationship with the environment differs in various regions of Asia. The empirical results are obtained by models of panel regression, which divide a balanced panel dataset of 46 countries into five groups depending on their subregions over the period 1991–2017. The tests of panel cointegration estimation found a majority of the cointegrated variables and verified the long‐run relationship between the variables. The long‐run coefficients are estimated using a fully modified ordinary least‐squares (FMOLS) method, and results conclude that industrialisation has a positive impact on the carbon dioxide emissions in the long run. These findings reveal that various industrialisation development strategies should be pursued in a bid to reduce emissions, depending on the levels of economic growth. Based on the findings, some policy suggestions are proposed for Asian economies.