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Journals / Ekoist: Journal of Econometrics and Statistics / 2026 / Sayı: 44

The Interconnections among Carbon Emissions, Economic Growth, Tourism, and Energy Use in China: Testing the EKC Hypothesis Through the ARDL Approach

Gülbahar Atasever(Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi)0000-0001-7244-9243
Pages
178–194
Publication Date
2026-07-03
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

These results indicate that economic growth, energy consumption, and tourism have significant positive effects on CO2e.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:The existence of the EKC hypothesis has been investigated in the literature across various countries and factors.
📊
Key Findings & Data:This study focuses on the effects of tourism on environmental quality under the EKC hypothesis, considering that tourism is a significant factor affecting environmental quality as a developing country in China.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:These results indicate that economic growth, energy consumption, and tourism have significant positive effects on CO2e.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:2023 Verileri
⚙️Variables:CO2 Emissions · Tourism · EKC Hypothesis

Abstract

The existence of the EKC hypothesis has been investigated in the literature across various countries and factors. This study focuses on the effects of tourism on environmental quality under the EKC hypothesis, considering that tourism is a significant factor affecting environmental quality as a developing country in China. In this context, this paper examines the dynamic relationships among economic growth, tourism, energy use, and CO2 emissions (CO2e) in China for the period 1995-2023. The results of the study using the autoregressive distributed lag method confirmed the validity of the EKC hypothesis, which argues that income level increases environmental degradation in the early stage of economic development but increases environmental quality after a certain level. Additionally, FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR analyses were performed for robustness check and obtained similar results to ARDL analysis. Furthermore, increases in economic growth and energy consumption increase environmental degradation both in the short- and long-run. Tourism arrivals cause environmental degradation only eventually. According to the empirical results, a 1% increase in economic growth, the square of economic growth, energy consumption, and tourism arrivals had an impact of 1.009%, −0.064%, 1.183%, and 0.039% on CO2e in the long run, respectively. These results indicate that economic growth, energy consumption, and tourism have significant positive effects on CO2e. Therefore, the use of renewable energy sources and the expansion of environmentally compatible tourism activities are necessary to create a sustainable environment. In addition, the results show that the short- and long-run effects of the variables are close to each other; therefore, sustainability policies should be generalised to all time dimensions. In conclusion, this study is important in showing the effects of tourism on environmental quality under the EKC hypothesis in China and reaching the conclusion of convergence of sustainability in the short- and long-run.

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Cite This Article

Atasever, G. (2026). The Interconnections among Carbon Emissions, Economic Growth, Tourism, and Energy Use in China: Testing the EKC Hypothesis Through the ARDL Approach. Ekoist: Journal of Econometrics and Statistics, Sayı: 44, 178–194. https://doi.org/10.26650/ekoist.2026.44.1810914

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