International Journal of Sustainable Development (7 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Economic growth and sustainable developments within the BRICS, MINT and G-7 countries: a comparative panel data analysis  
  by Olawumi Dele Awolusi, Josue Mbonigaba 
  Abstract: After three decades of growth, sustainability of economic growth in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries has been documented as a major problem given the diverse nature of socioeconomic, institutional and environmental characteristics in the group, especially, as some members of the group change status from emerging economies to developed economies. Therefore, understanding the knowledge of how economic growth would affect the level of development in individual countries is important in solving this problem. Consequently, this study analysed the effect of economic growth on sustainable development within the BRICS, MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey) and G-7 countries using a panel dataset from 1990 to 2017. After testing for cross-sectional dependency and panel Unit Root, the study estimates via the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) were supported by Cross-Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) and Cross-Sectional Distributed Lag (CS-DL). The results confirm that sustainable development and economic growth are co-integrated at the panel level, indicating the presence of long-run equilibrium relationships. Our results are robust to all the robustness checks, including temporal and spatial changes. Consequently, the study concluded that economic growth increases the level of sustainable developments in the BRICS, MINT and G-7 countries in the short run. However, except for the G-7 countries, economic growth was a drag on sustainable development in the BRICS and MINT countries in the long run. The study thereby suggests improved institutional support, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), domestic investment, and financial development policies to achieve sustainable developments in the BRICS blocs. Unique from previous studies, the novelty of this study is partly the construction of sustainable development indexes that are robust to cross-sectional dependence and small sample bias
  Keywords: sustainable development; economic growth; CS-ARDL; CS-DL; BRICS countries.
  
  
• Public participation, innovation capability and green growth: a pilot study in Beijing  
  by Xiaoling Wang, Yu Han, Lixia Wang, Hanfei Wen, Qinglong Shao 
  Abstract: Existing studies mainly discuss the effects of command-and-control as well as market-oriented environmental regulations on green economies, yet few have focused on the functions of public participation in environmental governance, especially from a dynamic angle. To further enrich the discussion, this study constructs a dynamic relationship analytical framework between public participation and green growth to test existence of the Porter Hypothesis (PH). Under this framework, a green GDP index is first constructed to represent the level of green growth. In addition, technological innovation is introduced as an intervening variable to observe the influencing mechanism of public participation on green growth. The research findings based on an empirical test of Beijing data confirm that a long-term stable coordination relationship exists among the three variables. Public participation promotes the improvement of innovation capability and green growth, but not vice versa. Therefore, the significant role of public participatory environmental regulation is supported which indicates that the PH is valid. Moreover, a virtuous circle relationship is also found between innovation and green growth. Accordingly, policy implications are proposed to advocate public participation in environmental regulations to promote regional green growth.
  Keywords: green GDP; environmental regulation; public participation; innovation capability; vector autoregressive model.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJSD.2022.10048703
   
  
• Perceptions regarding sustainable innovation in marketing in the Brazilian fast food sector  
  by Adriana Beatriz Madeira, Fabiana Gama De Medeiros, Gilberto Perez 
  Abstract: This study sought to understand experts perceptions regarding sustainable innovations in marketing in the fast food sector in Brazil. As a research method, it used in-depth interviews and convenience sampling, with eight interviewees, including researchers, managers and consultants with at least 10 years of experience in the fast food sector. By analysing the content of the interviews (using the 13 pre-existing categories from the literature review, plus two new categories that emerged), it was noted that the interviewees found it difficult to identify the concept of sustainability. In addition, the Brazilian context appears to be an obstacle for the adoption of more sustainable consumption habits by the population in general, owing to an educational gap. The interviewees indicated the need to develop public policies for the country to enable the implementation of sustainable innovations. There is little evidence of specific sustainable innovations in the fast food sector in Brazil.
  Keywords: fast food; sustainable innovation; sustainable innovation in marketing.
  
  
• Keen Sight Fund healthcare initiatives in post-conflict Lebanon  
  by Mohamad Fadl Harake, Virginie Nahas, Nada Khaddage-Soboh 
  Abstract: This study examined the work and processes of non-governmental entities providing sustainable healthcare services through humanitarian action in post-conflict environments, and highlights the significance of peacebuilding through public healthcare services. Here, Keen Sight Fund (KSF), a Lebanon-based non-governmental ophthalmology fund, was studied. Using multi-method qualitative methodology, the KSFs initiation, the establishment of partnerships with local and international NGOs, a field mission to a remote dispensary, and its awareness campaigns from 2016 to 2020 were observed. KSF volunteer physicians, a public sector official, and partnered NGO officials were interviewed. Discussions were also held with 42 focus-group participants, and members of households that had benefitted from KSF services. Study results indicate that local humanitarian actions, led by volunteer physicians backed by international financial support, form the best approach to rebuilding healthcare services in post-conflict settings. The study further highlights the importance of social investment in communal work.
  Keywords: post-conflict environment; social investment; public sector; sustainable healthcare services; peacebuilding; NGOs; humanitarian action; Lebanon.
  
  
• A study of rural tourism development and tourism economic quality based on regional difference analysis  
  by Yue Dong 
  Abstract: Development of rural tourism can boost rural economic development, and objective analysis of rural tourism can facilitate the synergistic development of the industry. The slack-based measure (SBM) model used for calculating the economic quality of rural tourism, the entropy method used for calculating the weight of development indicators constructed by the analytic hierarchy process method, and the Thiel index used for measuring the differences in development levels are presented. An analysis was performed on Henan Province. The results demonstrate that the tourism economic quality and development level in the countryside in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of Henan Province all showed an increasing trend over time, and the ranking was always the lower reach > the middle reach > the upper reach. The differences in tourism development levels among the three reaches gradually decreased, and the contribution of differences within regions to the overall differences rose first and then decreased.
  Keywords: difference analysis; rural tourism; economic quality; slack-based measure model.
  
  
• Valuing ecosystem services within the territorial development approach: the ecosystem services basket in the Karaburun Peninsula, Turkey  
  by Heval Yildirim, Mélanie Requier-Desjardins, Hélène Rey-Valette, Bernard Pecqueur 
  Abstract: Since media attention to the concept of ecosystem services (ES) by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) in 2005, the ES have become an important policy framework when addressing development and planning issues at a territorial level. Moreover, many studies dealing with the role of local resources in territorial economic development have led to the emergence of a territorial development model based on the activation of specific resources by local actors. Our research aims to combine qualities from both of the ES and territorial development research communities. We will develop and test an operational research framework based on a new concept, the ES basket, and demonstrate the relevance of developing a non-monetary valuation approach based on multi-criteria indicators and perceptions. Our scope is to better characterise the potential valuation of agricultural ES through emblematic products. The ES basket aims at facilitating the recognition of ES through these products, and consequently collective action and the appropriation of changes towards better sustainability in agriculture. This methodological framework has been applied to a rural territory, the Karaburun Peninsula (Turkey), where ES baskets have been developed through the farming of two emblematic products, olives and narcissus. Our results may help to identify the perspectives of territorial development and the supporting policies to be implemented for the valuation of ES baskets.
  Keywords: ecosystem services basket; territorial development; rent; perception; governance; emblematic product.
  
  
• The continuum of pro-environmental behaviour in the context of the Value-Belief-Norm Theory of Environmentalism: implications towards sustainable development  
  by Ian Phil Canlas, Mageswary Karpudewan 
  Abstract: This paper reports a systematic review of studies on pro-environmental behaviour anchored on the Value-Belief-Norm Theory of Environmentalism extracted from the Scopus database and published between 1999 and the present. It aimed at determining the continuum of pro-environmental behaviour and study locale by examining context-themes of the same in the hope of determining research opportunities and future research directions. Results revealed that although the trend is increasing, the number of studies related to it still needs to grow. Among the categories of the context-themes that emerged include (a) energy conservation, (b) green/sustainable consumption, (c) waste management, (d) green/sustainable tourism, (e) climate change mitigation and adaptation, (f) biodiversity conservation, (g) policy support, (h) pro-environmental behaviour in workplaces, and (i) other minor emergent themes. Most locales were from western and highly developed countries. The later part of the paper reflects environmentalism in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
  Keywords: Value-Belief-Norm Theory; pro-environmental behaviour; environmentalism; sustainable development; sustainable development goals.