Vahid Mohamad Taghvaee - PhD. Candidate in Health Economics, Department of Economic Development and Planning, Tarbiat Morares University, Tehran, Iran
Jalil Khodaparast Shirazi - Assistant Professor in Development Economics, Department of Economics, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran
Zahra Rezaee - Master of Science in Economics, Department of Economics, Shiraz Branch,Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran
Ali Sepehrikia - PhD. Candidate in Governmental Management, Zahedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zahedan, Iran

This study aims to estimate the relationship between green growth and brown growth with openness in ten oil-exporting countries within 1990-2012. It paves the way to investigate not only the economic effects but also the environmental effects of openness. For the investigation, both the green growth and brown growth are employed in an econometric methodology. The results suggest that there is a nonlinear relationship between growth and openness. From green growth point of view, it is negative in the lower level of openness while it becomes positive in the higher level of openness. It claims that in the low level of free-trade, the openness plays a hazardous role in environmental quality while it has environmentally positive effects in the opener countries. From the brown growth point of view, the nexus of brown growth and openness not only is already positive but also it can become stronger in the higher level of openness. It shows that openness plays a positive role in the economic growth in the oil-exporting countries, although many believe that openness might threat the domestic economic activities which are unable to compete with the foreign counterparts. Thus, the policy-makers of oil-exporting countries are advised to open their economy more and more to reach the higher level of environemtal quality besides the economic growth, or rather the sustainable development.

Sustainability; Openness; Green Growth; Brown Growth