Environmental degradation in South Asia: Implications for child health and the role of institutional quality and globalization

In order to address the pressing issue of child death, policymakers have increasingly recognized the need to prioritize child health in their policy decisions. The growing literature supports the recognition of various macroeconomic factors as significant contributors to child health. However, one element largely overlooked in recent research is environmental degradation, which poses a significant threat to child health, particularly in developing nations. Consequently, the current analysis aims to shed light on the impact of environmental degradation on child health and how this relationship is influenced by institutional quality (IQ) and globalization (GLB). The feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) and panel-corrected standard error (PCSE) were used to establish the empirical relationship by using 27 years of data (1995-2021) from the South Asian economies. Empirical results demonstrate that environmental degradation negatively influences child health, that is, increasing mortality rates, indicating that CO2 is the main obstacle to meeting the SDG-3.2 target of 25 infant mortality rate per 1000 in South Asia by 2030. While IQ and GLB positively impact child health. Furthermore, the relationship between CO2 emissions and child health demonstrated how IQ and GLB have moderating effects. Higher CO2 emissions eventually result in higher mortality rates, although these emissions can be reduced by promoting GLB, whereas IQ cannot moderate the negative influence of CO2 emissions on child health. Study results show that health-relevant reforms should align with strong IQ, GLB, and environmental protection policies. This study builds on earlier research by investigating IQ and GLB's moderating role in influencing child health.