Beyond Growth: Governance and Education as Drivers of Environmental Health in an EKC-Based PLS-SEM Framework
Sustainable Development, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1002/sd.71324
- Dergi Adı: Sustainable Development
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, ABI/INFORM, Environment Index, Geobase, Greenfile, Index Islamicus, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Political Science Abstract (IPSA), Natural Science Collection (ProQuest), Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Business Source Ultimate (EBSCO), Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest), Political Science Database (ProQuest), Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO), Technology Collection (ProQuest)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: education, environmental health, environmental Kuznets curve, governance, one health, PLS-SEM, sustainability
- Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Isolating environmental issues from their broader social and political context limits understanding of their true drivers. In this sense, factors such as governance and education can be powerful determinants of environmental performance. This research examines the factors influencing the Environmental Health component of the Environmental Performance Index using a cross-sectional design and a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling framework. The model incorporates six governance dimensions from the World Governance Indicators (WGI), two education-related indicators from the Human Development Index, along with GDP per capita and trade openness. The results show that economic development is positively associated with environmental health. However, the growth–environment relationship appears to depend on institutional quality and human capital development. Education emerges as both a direct and indirect factor influencing environmental health. Our findings support previous evidence connecting education to environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviour and align with the literature on eco-social and transformative learning approaches. Governance is a strong predictor of environmental health and acts as a macro-level interface that translates economic and educational gains into environmental outcomes. Although trade openness has no direct significant impact on environmental health, it has a statistically significant indirect effect—mainly through GDP, education, and governance. Overall, education enhances human capital, environmental awareness, and civic capacity, while governance determines whether these capabilities are institutionalized through policy coherence. Their interaction forms the core of a sustainability framework aligned with the One Health perspective on environmental quality, which is closely related to the integrative principles of the Sustainable Development Goals.