The role of logistics performance for sustainable development in top Asian countries: Evidence from advance panel estimations

The logistics played an important role in the economic excellence of any country and region. However, being a major consumer of energy it also has adverse effects. Therefore there is a need to understand the role of logistics from economic and environmental aspects. By grounding on the theoretical foundations of IPAT and STIRPAT, the dataset of the present study is comprised of top Asian countries having 540 observations from the year 2010 to 2018 (quarterly). After applying multiple preliminary tests, including cross‐section dependence, unit root tests, and cointegration, the long run and short‐run relationship among the studied variables are explored by employing the Cross‐sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lags (CS‐ARDL). The study confirms the significance of logistic performance index (LPI) in complementing economic growth (EG) and countering carbon emission (CE) along with the other theoretical determinants of IPAT and STIRPAT. Based on the findings, the results are discussed whereas policy implications are also proposed which states the transformation of existing logistical infrastructure towards more environment friendly operations. Lastly the limitations are discussed, on which future research directions are also recommended.