Towards environmental degradation mitigation: The role of regulatory quality, technological innovation and government effectiveness in the CEMAC countries

The study explores the interaction between regulatory quality, economic growth, technological innovation, energy consumption, government spending on research and development, and environmental degradation (EVD) in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) region. The study applied the econometric approach CS-ARDL to estimate the short and long-term interaction between the regressors and the explanatory variable. The study period covers from 1990 to 2020. To summarize the findings of this research, (1) the study discovered a positive relationship between energy consumption, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and environmental degradation. (2) Economic growth, government spending on research and development, and technological innovation, on the other hand, extensively dissipates EVD in the CEMAC economies. (3) The causality analysis espoused a bidirectional connection between energy consumption, technological innovation, and EVD. (4) Lastly, a unidirectional interplay exists between economic growth, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and EVD. This study also serves as a reference point for policymakers and governmental institutions to invest in cleaner technologies and increase government research and development spending to mitigate environmental degradation in these areas.