Abstract
The discourse on the environment and growth nexus has been an important research agenda. However, the debate on the role of institutional quality (IQ) in environmental degradation is not adequate. Unlike others, this study examines the asymmetric effect of IQ towards ecological footprint (EF) from 1984 to 2014 in Pakistan. The non-linear autoregressive distributive lag model revealed that positive shocks are negatively effecting EF and negative shocks are positively effecting EF. Our findings suggest that a better IQ is substantially reducing EF, whereas energy consumption and economic growth are increasing EF. The study has robust policy implications.