Moderating effect of digital governance and eco-policy stringency in realizing natural resources-growth nexus: Role of financial development and FDI in G20 countries

Digital governance expedites its benefits in technology-based advanced countries, particularly in developed nations. Due to higher competitiveness, foreign direct investments (FDI) augment economic prosperity. However, most economies are highly volatile due to the resource-curse paradox. Given this, our study scrutinizes the influence of e-governance, FDI, mineral resources, and environmental regulations on economic growth of G20 countries from 2010 to 2022. Generalized method of moment (GMM) is employed to encounter endogeneity and reverse causality. The outcomes reveal that digital governance, FDI, and environmental regulations facilitate economic growth, while natural resources discourage economic growth and affirm the resource-curse problem. This research also assesses how environmental regulation and digital governance divert the resource curse. Through moderating impact, it exhibits that e-governance and environmental regulations are crucial to stimulating economic growth. Feasible generalized least squares also endorse similar results. The Granger causality test indicates a bidirectional causality among all model variables and offers valuable policy implications.