Balancing Employment and Environmental Goals: Evidence from BRICS and Other Emerging Economies, 1991–2020

Neha Jain, Albert Wijeweera (), Geetilaxmi Mohapatra and Clevo Wilson
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Neha Jain: School of Business, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kandoli Campus, Dehradun 248007, Uttarakhand, India
Albert Wijeweera: Department of Management Science and Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 127788, United Arab Emirates
Geetilaxmi Mohapatra: Department of Economics and Finance, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani 333031, Rajasthan, India
Clevo Wilson: School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-16

Abstract: This paper examines how emerging markets balance the seemingly conflicting objectives of higher employment generation and improved environmental quality, with particular attention to the pivotal roles of trade openness and natural resource endowments. Utilizing a balanced panel dataset from 20 emerging economies that include all BRICS nations (except Ethiopia) and 10 other major emerging economies such as Mexico, Malaysia and Thailand spanning 1991–2020, the analysis applies the cross-section augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) model to estimate both short- and long-run relationships. The findings indicate that increased trade openness and greater natural resource rents do not intensify the employment–environment trade-off; instead, they may facilitate simultaneous improvements in both areas, resulting in a win–win scenario. The results show that effective trade and resource management policies can reduce conflicts between unemployment and environmental issues, benefiting both the economy and the environment. This study also highlights the importance of integrated policies that connect trade liberalization, resource governance, and sustainability, offering useful guidance for emerging economies aiming for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Keywords: natural resource rent; environmental Phillips curve; environmental unemployment curve; unemployment; renewable energy; CO 2 emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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