Impact of Economic-Social Development on Air Quality in the Middle East Countries

This research mainly aims to investigate the effect of economic-social development on air quality in Middle East countries. For this purpose, the effects of Socio-economic Development indicators and natural resource utilization indicators are examined as one of the main drivers of growth and development in the Middle East on Sulfur dioxide  emission as an indicator  for air  quality. Since air pollution is a stable occurrence over time, the time-varying coefficient panel data model during the time period 2000-2019 is used to examine the impact of variables on Sulfur dioxide emissions. The results show that human capital, per capita income, and innovation have the greatest impact on the increase in Sulfur dioxide emissions, but resource usage indicators, especially the consumption of fossil fuels, lead to a decrease in Sulfur dioxide emissions. In fact, given the low use of renewable energy in the Middle East, energy consumption is mainly based on carbon sources. Thus, it is necessary to use environmental technologies and innovations instead of technology-based activities to control this issue in order to achieve sustainable economic growth and development.