Food security and agriculture value-added: Do they asymmetrically matter for Korean environmental sustainability?

Abstract

Limited research has previously probed the interplay between Korea’s food security, agricultural sector, and environmental ramifications. This study delves into the asymmetric influence of food security and agricultural value-added on Korea’s carbon dioxide emissions (an environmental sustainability proxy) from 1970 to 2020, incorporating non-renewable energy consumption and foreign direct investment. Employing a nonlinear auto-regressive distributed lag methodology, our findings unveil long-term asymmetric effects of food security and agricultural value-added on carbon dioxide emissions. Specifically, carbon dioxide emissions rise with positive shocks to food security and agricultural value-added but decline with negative shocks. Moreover, our analysis reveals that non-renewable energy consumption positively impacts carbon dioxide emissions, whereas foreign direct investment exerts a negative effect. These insights may underpin policy recommendations for the Korean government to bolster environmental sustainability.

Keywords:

• Food security
• agriculture value-added
• environmental sustainability
• nonrenewable energy consumption
• foreign direct investment
• nonlinear auto-regressive distributed lag methodology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Data availability statement

The data presented in this study are available from the author upon request.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Yugang He

Professor Yugang He, currently an esteemed faculty member at Sejong University in South Korea, boasts an extensive and diverse academic portfolio. His scholastic pursuits traverse the fields of international economics and trade, energy and environmental economics, agricultural and social economics, as well as econometrics. As a testament to his academic standing, Prof. He has assumed pivotal roles as an editor and reviewer for an array of distinguished SSCI, SCI, and A&HCI journals. Prof. He's academic influence extends beyond the realm of scholarly literature, as he is frequently invited to share his expertise at international academic conferences. His research has garnered significant recognition, earning him multiple accolades, including the coveted Best Paper Award on numerous occasions. Furthermore, his pedagogical prowess is often sought after, resulting in his being invited to impart his knowledge to graduate students at various universities. Over the course of his vibrant academic career, Prof. He has been successful in the publication of over 30 scholarly articles in highly respected journals, thereby contributing significantly to the rich tapestry of academic discourse in his fields of interest. His consistent engagement with cutting-edge research and knowledge dissemination solidifies his status as a leading figure in his academic sphere.