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Neoclassical Growth, Environment and Technological Change: The Environmental Kuznets Curve

Santiago J. Rubio, Jose L. Garcia and Jose L. Hueso

Year: 2009
Volume: Volume 30
Number: Special Issue #2
DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol30-NoSI2-7
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Abstract:
This paper investigates socially optimal patterns of economic growth and environmental quality in a neoclassical growth model with endogenous technological progress. In the model, environmental quality has a positive effect not only on utility but also on production. Moreover, cleaner technologies can be used in the economy if a part of the output is used in environmentally oriented R&D. In this framework, if the initial level of capital is low, then the shadow price of a cleaner technology is low in relation to the cost of developing it, given by the marginal utility of consumption, and it is not worth investing in R&D. Thus, there will be a first stage of growth based only on the accumulation of capital with environmental quality decreasing until there is enough pollution to make investing in R&D profitable. After this turning point, if the new technologies are efficient enough, the economy can evolve along a balanced growth path with increasing environmental quality. The result is that the optimal investment pattern supports an environmental Kuznets curve.





Governance, Environmental Vulnerability, and PM2.5 Concentrations: International Evidence

Thai-Ha Le, Youngho Chang, and Donghyun Park

Year: 2021
Volume: Volume 42
Number: Number 6
DOI: 10.5547/01956574.42.6.thle
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Abstract:
We extend the EKC framework to examine the role of governance quality and environmental vulnerability in PM2.5 concentrations using a global panel dataset of 128 countries between 2000 and 2014. The results show that governance and education reduce PM2.5 concentrations while environmental vulnerability increases the concentrations. Promoting good governance and education as well as reducing environmental vulnerability can thus contribute to cleaner air. We find qualitatively similar results for the sub-sample of high-income countries, but governance has relatively weaker or insignificant effects for the sub-samples of upper-middle-income and lower-middle-and-low-income countries. High-income countries have strong institutional frameworks that facilitate enforcement of environmental regulations, which are conducive for protecting air quality, whereas other countries have relatively weak institutional capacity. This suggests a need for substantial economic, technological, and financial support from the international community for strengthening the environmental institutional capacity of developing countries.



Are Autocracies Bad for the Environment? Global Evidence from Two Centuries of Data

Apra Sinha, Ashish Kumar Sedai, Abhishek Kumar, and Rabindra Nepal

Year: 2023
Volume: Volume 44
Number: Number 2
DOI: 10.5547/01956574.44.2.asin
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Abstract:
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions is crucial for reducing the danger posed by climate change. There are factors for and against democracies in achieving these desired reductions. Using data from 150 countries, we estimate the marginal emission intensity (i.e., the change in per-capita carbon dioxide emissions for a unit change in per-capita income) across autocracies and democracies. We use regional waves of democratization and mean per-capita income of other countries in the region as instruments for democracy and per-capita income, respectively. Using these instruments, we obtain the causal estimate of the difference in marginal emission intensity and confirm that democracies have lower per-capita carbon dioxide emissions per unit increase in per-capita income compared to autocracies. Our results suggest that these benefits of democracies have occurred in recent decades, following the surge in public concerns about climate change and intergovernmental initiatives to reduce emissions. There is also evidence to suggest that strengthening rule enforcement and improving access to justice can be critical in decreasing carbon dioxide emissions.





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