Moderating Impacts of Education Levels in the Energy–Growth–Environment Nexus

Abstract

The world’s environment has deteriorated significantly over the years. Pollution’s impact on the ecosystem is undeniably alarming. Many factors have been found in the literature to impact environmental pollution. However, there is a dearth of literature on the impacts of education levels on environmental pollution. This study, therefore, examines the effects of education levels and their moderating impacts on the energy–growth–environment nexus. Fundamentally, the study investigates the effects of economic growth, natural resources, and the marginal effects of energy consumption on environmental pollution at various levels of education in Africa from 1990 to 2017. The cross-sectional dependence test, unit root test, cointegration test, fixed effect estimation, Driscoll–Kraay standard errors, fully modified least ordinary least square estimator and dynamic ordinary least square estimator are employed for the analyses. The findings reveal that education increases environmental pollution and that the marginal impacts of energy consumption at various education levels adversely impact environmental pollution, implying that increased school enrollments exacerbate the adverse effects of energy consumption. The findings also show that economic growth, population, and trade openness degrade the environment, whereas natural resources promote environmental sustainability. We deduce several policy implications to improve environmental quality in Africa based on the findings.