The role of environmental regulatory quality in the relationship between natural resources and environmental sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa

Natural resources benefit economies through economic growth and development. However, continuing unsustainable exploitation of these resources tend to harm the sustainability of the environment. Therefore, this paper explores the role of environmental regulatory quality (ERQ) in the relationship between natural resources (NR) and environmental sustainability (ES). The study covered 28 sub-Saharan African countries (SSA) from 2005-2017. Regarding the estimations, we utilized cross-sectional dependence, first-and second-generation unit root, and cointegration tests for preliminary checks. Finally, we used the system-GMM estimation for the analysis. We found that environmental regulatory quality improves environmental sustainability in SSA. We also observed that natural resources degrade environmental sustainability. Furthermore, we noticed that natural resources complemented environmental regulatory quality to reduce environmental sustainability in SSA. Therefore, we establish that ERQ in SSA does not complement NR to induce environmental sustainability. Based on the findings, we appeal for effective and rigorous implementation of environmental policies and regulations in SSA.