Exploring sustainable development in Africa: balancing economic growth, employment, inflation, and emissions

Africa faces many economic problems including high inflation, high unemployment, and low gross domestic product, all alongside increased carbon emissions. The study examines the impact of economic growth, unemployment, and inflation on carbon emissions across 32 African countries, using panel data from 2002 to 2022. The fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) methods show that economic growth will eventually reduce carbon emissions, confirming the EKC hypothesis. Additionally, unemployment is found to increase carbon emissions, while the effect of inflation is sensitive to the estimation technique used. Quantile regression analysis reveals a negative relationship between inflation and carbon emissions and a positive relationship between unemployment and emissions. The findings further suggest that the magnitude of the impact of these economic variables varies across different segments. To effectively combat rising carbon emissions, a long-term strategy to address unemployment in Africa is essential.