Revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis with globalization for OECD countries: the role of convergence clubs

This paper aims to investigate the role of globalization in ecological footprint for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries during the 1981–2015 period with the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework. To do so, unlike the existing literature, we follow a different path. Firstly, we test the environmental convergence (EC) hypothesis using the Phillips and Sul, Econometrica 75(6): 1771-1855, (2007) methodology. Then, we examine the impact of globalization and energy consumption on the ecological footprint (EF), and test the existence of the EKC hypothesis using the dynamic ordinary least squares mean group (DOLSMG) estimator. The convergence test results indicate that OECD countries do not converge to the same steady-state levels with regard to EF levels. However, we identify two convergence clubs that converging to a different steady-state equilibrium. The results of DOLSMG reveal that the EKC hypothesis is valid for both convergence groups. Furthermore, the impact of energy consumption and globalization on EF is higher for club 2, which includes developing countries.