Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have been facing serious environmental issues due to over-exploitation of natural resources. This paper analyzes the ecological footprint as a proxy of environmental degradation and determines its influencing factors in 18 MENA countries during 2000–2016. Despite the many studies on the relationship between the ecological footprint and its determinants in the region, the current study use spatial econometric models to take into account spatial dependence in the ecological footprint as well as its determinants. Using a spatial Durbin model, we revealed that neighbors’ behavior can significantly affect a country’s ecological footprint. Factors such as GDP per capita, trade openness, and financial development were found to increase environmental degradation, while the renewable energy consumption, urbanization, and quality of democracy effectively reduce the ecological footprint. These factors not only affect the ecological footprint in the host country, but also affect it in the adjacent countries in different ways. Due to the interdependence of the countries, we recommend development of a regional vision of the bio-economy such that the scope of the analysis goes beyond the country level to account for territorial effects. Furthermore, considering the great potential for renewable energy consumption in the region, we recommend MENA countries to develop use of renewable energy sources in order to reduce environmental degradation in the region.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship among CO₂ emissions, exports of goods and services, and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in countries in the MENA region over the period 2002–2014. To that end, spatial panel simultaneous equations model based on the adjacency-based and distance-based weight matrices was used. The findings indicated that the results of spatial panel simultaneous equations with distance-based weight matrix were more fitting than those with adjacency-based weight matrix. The empirical findings approved a two-way linkage between CO₂ emissions and exports and a one-way linkage between CO₂ emissions and FDI inflows and also, between FDI inflows and exports. Furthermore, the existence of the spatial correlations among the CO₂ emissions, exports and FDI inflows across countries was confirmed. It was further indicated that fossil fuel energy consumption was the main determinant of CO₂ emissions, and accession to the WTO played a major role in enhancing exports and FDI inflows. The present study can provide new insights for policymakers and planners to not only consider the economic benefits of exporting goods and services and FDI inflows, but also attend their environmental impacts on local and neighboring countries.

The objective of this study is to analyze the energy use efficiency and carbon footprint of irrigated wheat systems in different Iranian provinces. The authors resort to the k-means clustering technique to fulfil the said objective. The empirical results reveal that the average total input energy (59.5 GJ ha⁻¹) is higher than the average energy output (45.82 GJ ha⁻¹) from wheat production, resulting in an average energy efficiency of 0.77, thus rendering the production of irrigated wheat in Iran energy-inefficient on average. Among the thirty wheat-producing Iranian provinces considered in this analysis, only six—East Azerbaijan, Golestan, Ardabil, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Alborz, and West Azerbaijan—register an energy use efficiency greater than unity. The average total of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from irrigated wheat is 2243.54 kg CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ (with electricity and diesel fuel contributing 52.4% and 29.4%, respectively). The authors categorize the clusters into five groups ranging from sustainable to unsustainable. Five of the six provinces referred to earlier fall into the ‘sustainable’ category, with Bushehr being the sixth. The wheat production units in the ‘sustainable’ category can serve as a benchmark for the clusters in the other categories, which can move up the ladder of sustainability. The authors also recommend measures that policymakers can undertake to ensure the sustainable development of wheat production in Iran, fulfilling the social imperative of food self-sufficiency while truncating the environmental footprint and ensuring economic feasibility.

The cultivation of saffron, which is one of the most expensive agricultural products in the world, is the main source of livelihood and economic wellbeing for the rural communities of Gonabad county in the eastern part of Iran. Nevertheless, farm monitoring in the region has shown that many saffron growers apply a high-density planting system for more profit. This practice results in the loss of land productivity after a six-year production cycle. As a consequence, farmers abandon the cultivated lands and move to plant saffron in available virgin lands. The purpose of this study is to analyse the technical efficiency of saffron farms and its determinants with an emphasis on the role of planting density. A survey was conducted in 2019, and a cross-sectional random sampling technique was used to select 110 saffron growers. We first assessed the technical efficiency of farms using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model with input orientation. In the next step, efficiency scores were regressed on explanatory variables using OLS and bootstrapped truncated regression to identify efficiency related factors. We find that planting density negatively influenced technical efficiency, suggesting that it is necessary for saffron growers to be educated on the negative impacts of the dense planting system.

Climate change is an important threat to agriculture and food security. The trade of climate-smart goods (CSGs) develops climate-friendly technologies, which could reduce the negative effects of climate change. This article aims to investigate the determinants of CSGs trade in some Middle East and North Africa countries. For this purpose, spatial panel models were estimated during the 2002 to 2016 period. Our findings showed that there are spatial effects in CSGs trade, indicating CSGs trade in one country affects neighboring countries’ trade. It’s recommended that governments implement appropriate strategies, including rail, road, and air network improvements, to reduce transaction costs.