The Role of Economic Growth and FDI in Ecological Footprint and the Load Capacity Factor: Evidence From Türkiye

Proposed sustainable economic development and growth have been among the leading and desired objectives of policymakers. Thus, various investigations have been conducted, considering different social, political, and economic factors to lessen environmental degradation and improve biocapacity. Within this context, Türkiye is one of the most essential cases because of its location and role in the global supply chain, emerging countries' members, and the severity of the environmental situation. Thus, the study employs the Fourier ARDL, FADL co-integration tests, FMOLS estimations with Fourier Terms, and Fourier Toda-Yamamoto analysis to investigate the role of economic growth and FDI in ecological footprint and the load capacity factor along with considering some control variables over the period between 1982 to 2021. As a result of the investigations, it is concluded that the economic growth, the FDI, and the remaining variables do not promote impact the load capacity factor. However, the considered variables pressure the environment when the ecological footprint is regarded as the environmental indicator, and the pollution haven hypothesis holds for Türkiye. To reverse and mitigate the harmful effects of economic activities, efforts, and policies should be made toward environmentally friendly forms of production, trade, FDI, and renewable energy sources.