On the nonlinear relationship between energy use and CO2 emissions within an EKC framework: Evidence from panel smooth transition regression in the MENA region

This paper proposes a new approach for analyzing the dynamic relationships between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, energy use, and income Middle East North African (MENA) region. Our study implements class of regime-switching models, namely nonlinear panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) framework. Two kinds estimates emissions are provided. On one hand, we measure impact consumption on CO2 concerning level per capita, as countries with similar usage would have different levels intensity. other estimate output growth variation, higher economic does not necessarily mean energy-intensive activities. empirical findings support these intuitions they indicate that pollutant respond nonlinearly to GDP growth. We find an inverted U-shaped pattern CO2, in sense environmental degradation is declining beyond given threshold, which estimated endogenously within PSTR model. Also, our results underscore significantly impacts only