The role of schooling in shaping the fishing footprint in Greece: evidence from an augmented ARDL approach

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47193/mafis.3922026010403

Keywords:

Human capital, fishing footprint, AARDL

Abstract

The fishing footprint, which reflects humanity’s demand on marine ecosystems and is closely linked to fisheries sustainability, serves as the main environmental indicator for marine resources. This study investigated the role of schooling as an indicator of human capital in shaping the fishing footprint in Greece over the period 1990-2022. The empirical analysis employed the Augmented ARDL (AARDL) approach, concentrating on the potential nonlinear relationship between human capital and environmental degradation in fishing grounds. The findings reveal the threshold effects of schooling: while lower levels of human capital increase environmental pressure, once a certain threshold is surpassed, human capital contributes to reducing environmental degradation in fisheries. Furthermore, the results validate the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and Environmental Phillips Curve (EPC) hypotheses in the context of fishing grounds.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahmed Z, Asghar MM, Malik, MN, Nawaz K. 2020a. Moving towards a sustainable environment: The dynamic linkage between natural resources, human capital, urbanization, economic growth, and ecological footprint in China. Resour Policy. 67: 101677. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101677

Ahmed Z, Zafar MW, Ali S. 2020b. Linking urbanization, human capital, and the ecological footprint in G7 countries: an empirical analysis. Sustain Cities Soc. 55: 102064. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102064

Akadiri SS, Ozkan O, Kirikkaleli D. 2025. Synergistic impact of renewable energy technology, governance, digitalisation, and human capital on sustainable development and load capacity factor in Germany’s energy landscape. Technol Soc. 103002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.103002

Alam I, Quazi, R. 2003. Determinants of capital flight: an econometric case study of Bangladesh. Int Rev Appl Econ. 17 (1): 85-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/713673164

Alsaleh M, Yuan Y, Longqi S. 2024. Do global competitiveness factors impact the marine sustainability practices? An empirical evidence from fisheries sector. Bus Strategy Environ. 33 (7): 6671-6688. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3839

Ayad H. 2023. Investigating the fishing grounds load capacity curve in G7 nations: Evaluating the influence of human capital and renewable energy use. Mar Pollut Bull. 194: 115413. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115413

Ayad H, Ben-Salha O, Djellouli N. 2024. Toward maritime sustainability in GCC countries: What role do economic freedom and human capital play? Mar Pollut Bull. 206: 116774. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116774

Balaguer J, Cantavella M. 2018. The role of education in the Environmental Kuznets Curve. Evidence from Australian data. Energy Econ. 70: 289-296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2018.01.021

Ben-Salha O, Zmami M. 2024. The impact of human capital on the load capacity factor in the middle east and north Africa. Econ Environ. 91 (4): 940-940. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34659/eis.2024.91.4.940

Bigg GR, Jickells TD, Liss PS, Osborn TJ. 2003. The role of the oceans in climate. Int J Climatol. 23 (10): 1127-1159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.926

Chen Y, Lee CC, Chen M. 2022. Ecological footprint, human capital, and urbanization. Energy Environ. 33 (3): 487-510. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0958305X211008610

Çağlar AE, Destek MA, Manga M. 2024. Analyzing the load capacity curve hypothesis for the Turkiye: a perspective for the sustainable environment. J Clean Prod. 444: 141232. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141232

Çakar ND, Gedikli A, Erdoğan S, Yıldırım DÇ. 2021. Exploring the nexus between human capital and environmental degradation: the case of EU countries. J Environ Manage. 295: 113057. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113057

Çamkaya S, Karaaslan A. 2024. Do renewable energy and human capital facilitate the improvement of environmental quality in the United States? A new perspective on environmental issues with the load capacity factor. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 31 (11): 17140-17155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32331-z

Dai J, Ahmed Z, Alvarado R, Ahmad M. 2024. Assessing the nexus between human capital, green energy, and load capacity factor: policymaking for achieving sustainable development goals. Gondwana Res. 129: 452-464. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2023.04.009

Danish HS, Baloch MA, Mahmood N. Zhang J. W. 2019. Linking economic growth and ecological footprint through human capital and biocapacity. Sustain Cities Soc. 47: 101516. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101516

Elegbede IO, Fakoya KA, Adewolu MA, Jolaosho TL, Adebayo JA, Oshodi E, Hungevu RF, Oladosu AO, Abikoye O. 2025. Understanding the social-ecological systems of non-state seafood sustainability scheme in the blue economy. Environ Dev Sustain 27: 2721-2752. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04004-3

[FAO] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2024. The State of world fisheries and aquaculture 2024. Blue transformation in action. Rome: FAO. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4060/cd0683en

[FAO] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2025. Fishery and aquaculture country profiles. Greece, 2024. Country profile fact sheets. In: Fisheries and aquaculture. Updated Jul 19, 2024. [accessed 2025 Sep 14]. Rome: FAO. https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/facp/GRC?lang=en.

Fowler AM, Dowling NA, Lyle JM, Alós J, Anderson LE, Cooke SJ, Danylchuk AJ, Ferter K, Folpp H, Hutt C, et al. 2023. Toward sustainable harvest strategies for marine fisheries that include recreational fishing. Fish Fish. 24: 1003-1019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12781

Ganda F. 2022. The environmental impacts of human capital in the BRICS economies. J Knowl Econ. 13 (1): 611-634. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-021-00737-6

[GFN] Global Footprint Network. 2025. [accessed 2025 Sep 10]. https://www.footprintnetwork.org/resources/glossary/#land-area-type.

Grossman GM, Krueger AB. 1991. Environmental impacts of a North American free trade agreement. NBER Work Pap. 3914: 1-39.

Hondroyiannis G, Papapetrou E, Tsalaporta P. 2022. New insights on the contribution of human capital to environmental degradation: evidence from heterogeneous and cross-correlated countries. Energy Econ. 116: 106416. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106416

Huang C, Zhang X, Liu K. 2021. Effects of human capital structural evolution on carbon emissions intensity in China: a dual perspective of spatial heterogeneity and nonlinear linkages. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 135: 110258. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110258

Kashem MA, Rahman MM. 2020. Environmental Phillips curve: OECD and Asian NICs perspective. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 27 (25): 31153-31170. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08620-8

Khan M. 2020. CO2 emissions and sustainable economic development: new evidence on the role of human capital. Sustainable Dev. 28 (5): 1279-1288. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2083

Landrigan PJ, Stegeman JJ, Fleming LE, Allemand D, Anderson DM, Backer LC, Brucker-Davis F, Chevalier N, Corra L, et al. 2020. Human health and ocean pollution. Ann Glob Health. 86 (1): 151. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2831

McNown R, Sam CY, Goh SK. 2018. Bootstrapping the autoregressive distributed lag test for cointegration. Applied Econ. 50 (13): 1509-1521. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2017.1366643

Narayan PK. 2005. The saving and investment nexus for China: evidence from cointegration tests. Appl Econ. 37 (17): 1979-1990. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840500278103

Ng S, Perron P. 2001. Lag length selection and the construction of unit root tests with good size and power. Econometrica. 69 (6): 1519-1554. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0262.00256

Pata UK, Erdogan S, Solarin SA, Okumus I. 2024. Evaluating the influence of democracy, financial development, and fishery product consumption on fishing grounds: A case study for Malaysia. Mar Policy. 168: 106301. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106301

Pata UK, Kartal MT, Adali Z, Karlilar S. 2023. Proposal of fishing load capacity curve and testing validity: evidence from top 20 countries with highest fisheries production by panel data approaches. Ocean Coast Manage. 245: 106856. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2023.106856

Pesaran MH, Shin Y, Smith RJ. 2001. Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships. J Appl Econometrics. 16: 289-326. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.616

Rashdan MOJ, Faisal F, Tursoy T, Pervaiz R. 2021. Investigating the N-shape EKC using capture fisheries as a biodiversity indicator: empirical evidence from selected 14 emerging countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 28 (27): 36344-36353. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13156-6

Saleem N, Shujah-ur-Rahman JZ. 2019. The impact of human capital and biocapacity on environment: environmental quality measure through ecological footprint and greenhouse gases. J Pollut Effects Control. 7 (2): 237.

Sam CY, McNown R, Goh SK. 2019. An augmented autoregressive distributed lag bounds test for cointegration. Econ Model. 80: 130-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2018.11.001

Sapkota P, Bastola U. 2017. Foreign direct investment, income, and environmental pollution in developing countries: panel data analysis of Latin America. Energy Econ. 64: 206-212. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2017.04.001

Solarin SA, Gil-Alana LA, Lafuente C. 2021. Persistence and sustainability of fishing grounds footprint: evidence from 89 countries. Sci Total Environ. 751: 141594. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141594

Şahin G, Naimoglu M, Kavaz I, Sahin, A. 2025. Examining the environmental Phillips curve hypothesis in the ten most polluting emerging economies: economic dynamics and sustainability. Sustainability. 17 (3): 920. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su17030920

Tariq S, Mehmood U, Ul Haq Z, Mariam A. 2022. Exploring the existence of environmental Phillips curve in South Asian countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 29 (23): 35396-35407. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-18099-6

Teng F, Mehmood U, Alofaysan H, Sun Y. 2024. Bridging shores: leveraging green finance, financial globalization, and human capital for a cleaner environment in G-20 marine ecosystems using the fishing ground capability curve theory. Mar Policy. 170: 106354. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106354

Ulucak R, Bilgili F. 2018. A reinvestigation of EKC model by ecological footprint measurement for high, middle and low income countries. J Clean Prod. 188: 144-157. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.191

[UN] United Nations. 2025. The Sustainable development goals report 2025. New York: UN. 51 p.

[UNDP] United Nations Development Programme. 2025. Human development reports. [accessed 2025 Aug 5]. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads.

Uzar U, Eyuboglu K. 2025. The role of income inequality in shaping fishing ground footprint in Indonesia: insights from the fourier augmented ARDL approach. Mar Policy. 176: 106635. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2025.106635

Wang C, Liu X, Li K, Wei C, Xie M. 2025. Inter-sectoral dynamics of the global fisheries carbon footprint: a multi-regional input-output analysis within the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. Front Mar Sci. 12: 1563747. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1563747

World Bank. 2025. World development indicators. [accessed 2025 Aug 5]. https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators.

Yao Y, Ivanovski K, Inekwe J, Smyth R. 2020. Human capital and CO2 emissions in the long run. Energy Econ. 91: 104907. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104907

Yılanci V, Cutcu I, Cayir B, Saglam MS. 2023. Pollution haven or pollution halo in the fishing footprint: Evidence from Indonesia. Mar Pollut Bull. 188: 114626. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114626

Yıldırım DÇ, Yıldırım S, Bostancı SH, Turan T. 2022. The nexus between human development and fishing footprint among Mediterranean countries. Mar Pollut Bull. 176: 113426. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113426

Zhang L, Godil DI, Bibi M, Khan MK, Sarwat S, Anser MK. 2021. Caring for the environment: How human capital, natural resources, and economic growth interact with environmental degradation in Pakistan? A dynamic ARDL approach. Sci Total Environ. 774: 145553. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145553

Downloads

Published

2026-01-04

How to Cite

Karahan-Dursun, P., Şengül, S., & Canbay, Şerif. (2026). The role of schooling in shaping the fishing footprint in Greece: evidence from an augmented ARDL approach. Marine and Fishery Sciences (MAFIS), 39(2). https://doi.org/10.47193/mafis.3922026010403