همگنی منطقه‌ای با رویکرد رد پای اکولوژیکی با محوریت شاخص‌های اجتماعی و اقتصادی در ایران

Materials and Methods
The aim of this research is to design a regional homogeneous model in Iran focusing on urbanization, inequality, economic development, employment, foreign direct investment, and ecological approach. Considering that the results of this research can be utilized in Iran's growth and prosperity, this study is therefore considered practically oriented in terms of its objectives. Additionally, since the current research data are purely quantitative, the nature of the research is thus quantitative in this regard. The required data for this study were collected from the World Development Indicators website, the National Portal of Iran, and the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the period 1978-2018. In this research, three regression models were estimated using the Quantile Regression method using EViews 10 software, each of which will be introduced further below.
Model 1: Qα(LnCO2) = α+ β1LnGDP2t + β2GINI2t+ β3FDI2t+ β4Labort
Model 2: Qα(LnCO2) = α + µ1LnGDP2t + µ2LnUrban2t+ µ3LnOilt
Model 3: Qα(LnGinit) =∂α+ θ1 LnGDP2t+ θ2LnUrban2t
Results and Discussion
Based on the outputs from EViews software, the inverted Kuznets hypothesis holds in Iran. In all three models, nearly all variables across different quantiles significantly impact the dependent variable.
Results of Model 1: In the first model, the effects of economic development and employment are significantly negative on environmental quality across all quantiles, while inequality is only significant in the third and fourth quantiles, showing a positive effect on carbon dioxide emissions. Foreign direct investment has a negative effect on environmental pollution, significant across all quantiles except the first.
Results of Model 2: The variables of development and urbanization, while significant across all quantiles, also exhibit a detrimental effect on the environment. Crude oil production is significant only in the second and third quantiles, confirming its detrimental impact on the environment.
Results of Model 3: third model examines the impact of development and urbanization on inequality, showing significant effects across all quantiles except the first. Increased development leads to increased inequality, while urbanization has a negative impact on inequality.
Mutual effects between the dependent and independent variables were tested using symmetry tests in all three models, confirming bidirectional causality.
This study observes different outcomes compared to similar studies conducted previously in Iran, indicating both divergent and corroborative findings with existing literature, likely due to temporal changes in the study period.
Conclusion
Considering that each quantile represents a specific class and each variable has a different impact on ecological footprint and inequality across these classes, policymakers should have diverse plans aimed at sustainable development while preserving the environment and reducing the Gini coefficient in different regions. While increasing production is a national goal, it should not impose significant environmental costs on the country. Standardizing industrial production and transitioning from traditional to industrial production and technology are concepts derived from the current research.
Attention to rural development and the provision of rural infrastructure should hinder the promotion of urbanization trends, as this factor has contributed to environmental pollution in the country. Moreover, as an oil-producing nation, Iran needs to mitigate the destructive effects of this variable on the environment by utilizing modern technologies for extraction, internalizing environmental costs, and striving to replace government revenues from other sources.
Furthermore, attracting foreign investment through political diplomacy should be a priority for governments, as this variable significantly contributes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the country.