Green field investment and environmental performance: A case of selected nine developing countries of Asia

This study examines the influence of green field investment, energy consumption, economic growth and urbanization on the environmental performance of nine selected Asian developing countries over 2003–2014 period. It uses Environmental Performance Index (EPI), developed by the Yale University as proxy for environment. By applying the fixed and random effect estimators and robust least squares technique, the empirical findings show that green field investment has adverse effect on the environmental performance of the nine selected Asian developing countries. However, economic growth is found to have positive influence on the environmental performance. The results suggest that strict environmental regulations should be introduced to mitigate the detrimental effects of foreign capital in these countries and there should not be compromise on the quality of foreign capital. In addition, adequate policies should be formulated to enhance economic growth to ensure sustainable environment in these regions. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 37: 1085–1092, 2018