Estimating the Role of Economic Globalization, Technological Development and Household Consumption on Ecological Footprint in Visegrad Countries

Environmental quality is a crucial topic both for developed and developing countries. In particular, along with globalization, developing countries strive to catch up with developed countries. However, the globalization process in developing countries may also cause environmental effects. Hence, the current paper aims to analyze the impact of economic globalization, technological development, and household consumption on the ecological footprint (EF) in Visegrad countries, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia over the period 1996-2021 through controlling economic growth and renewable energy consumption. In order to achieve this aim, we perform Driscoll & Kraay, panel corrected standard errors (PCSE), and feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) estimators that take into consider cross-sectional dependence (CSD). The empirical findings reveal that economic globalization and household consumption reduce EF, whereas technological development fosters environmental degradation by increasing EF. Moreover, renewable energy consumption has a negative effect on EF, while economic growth contributes to EF in the V4 countries. Consequently, empirical findings can help policymakers develop new policies for combating environmental degradation by considering the role of economic globalization and technological improvement.