ISSN: 2222-6990
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This study investigates the effects of land use, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and population growth on economic growth in Malaysia from 1990 to 2023. For each year, time-series data were collected from the World Development Indicators (WDI) and CEIC Data. We used unit root tests to examine the stationarity properties of the variables: Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF), Dickey-Fuller Generalized Least Squares (DF-GLS) and Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-Shin (KPSS). The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach and the Error Correction Model (ECM) were used to examine the relationships among variables in the long and short run. The results validate a stable relationship between real GDP per capita, population growth, land use and CO2 emissions. The long-term projections show that population growth has a negative and significant impact on real GDP per capita, while land use and CO2 emissions have a positive but statistically insignificant impact. The short-term results show positive effects of population growth at some of the lag periods and significant negative effects of land use and CO2 emissions at some of the lag intervals, while the immediate effects are not significant. The error correction term is negative and statistically significant, providing further evidence for the convergence to the long-run equilibrium. The results emphasize the significance of differentiating between short- and long-term effects of demographic and environmental factors on the economic performance of Malaysia. The study calls for the implementation of policies that enhance labor productivity, sustainable land management, resource efficiency and low-carbon development to facilitate long-term economic growth in Malaysia.
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