ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS CURVE: AN EMPRİCAL EVALUATION BY REDUCED AND DECOMPOSED MODELS

Year 2013, Volume: 31 Issue: 1, 199 - 224, 30.06.2013

Ahmet Şahinöz Zahra Fotourehchı

Abstract

Environmental Kuznets Curve: An Emprical Evaluation by Reduced and Decomposed Models In this study, by using different models, during 1994-2010 in 26 OECD countries, Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis and the presence of scale, composition and technology effects in EKC was analyzed. The impacts of environmental policies, population density on EKC was also explored. Based on estimations of reduced and decomposed models of EKC, the presence of a N shape relationship between ambient CO2 and GDP per capita was found. A similar relationship exists between ambient CO2 and population density. Our main finding is that the environmental policies led to EKC shifted down and reduced slope and intercept of EKC. Effective environmental policies can help flatten the EKC and reduce the environmental cost of economic growth. Based on estimation of decomposed forms of EKC, scale, composition and technology effects in EKC was verified

Keywords

Environmental Kuznets Curve, environmental policies, population density, scale, composition and technology effects

ÇEVRESEL KUZNETS EĞRİSİ: İNDİRGENMİŞ VE AYRIŞTIRILMIŞ MODELLERLE AMPİRİK BİR ANALİZ

Abstract

Bu çalışmada 1994-2010 dönemi için 26 OECD ülkesinde, farklı modeller kullanılarak Çevresel Kuznets Eğrisi (ÇKE) varsayımının geçerliliği ve ÇKE'nin oluşumundaki ölçek, birleşim ve teknolojik etkiler incelenmektedir. Ayrıca çevre politikaları ve nüfus yoğunluğu gibi değişkenlerin ÇKE üzerindeki etkileri de araştırılmaktadır. İndirgenmiş ve ayrıştırılmış modellere göre kişi başına GSYH ile CO₂ emisyonu arasında N-tipli bir ilişki saptanmıştır. Benzer ilişki nüfus yoğunluğu ile CO₂ emisyonu için de geçerlidir. Çevre politikalarının uygulanması ÇKE'nin aşağıya doğru kaymasına ve eğiminin azalmasına neden olmaktadır. Ayrıştırılmış model tahmin sonuçları ÇKE'nin oluşumundaki ölçek, birleşim ve teknolojik etkilerin geçerliliğini kanıtlamıştır.

Keywords

Çevresel Kuznets Eğrisi, çevre politikaları, nüfus yoğunluğu, ölçek, birleşim ve teknolojik etkiler

References

• Antweiler, W., R.B. Copeland, M.S. Taylor (2001) “Is Free Trade Good for the Environment?”, The American Economic Review, 4(2), 877–908.
• Beckerman, W. (1992) “Economic Growth and the Environment: Whose Growth? Whose Environment? ”, World Development, 20(4), 481-496.
• Birdsall, N., D. Wheeler (1993) “Trade Policy and Industrial Pollution in Latin America: Where are the Pollution Havens?”, Journal of Environment and Development, 2(1), 137–149.
• Bruyn, S.M., R.J. Heniz (1999) The Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis, Handbook of Environmental and Resource Economics, 656-677, Chelttenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
• Cole, M.A., R.J.R. Elliott (2003) “Determining the Trade-Environment Composition Effect: The Role of Capital, Labor and Environmental Regulations”, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 46(3), 363-383.
• Dasgupta, S., D. Laplante, H. Wang, D. Wheeler (2002) “Confronting the Environmental Kuznets Curve”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16(1), 147-168.
• Dinda, S. (2004) “ Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Survey”, Ecological Economics, 49, 431– 455.
• Granger,C.W.J., J. Hallman (1991) “Nonlinear Transformations of Integrated Time Series”, Journal of Time Series Analysis, 12(3), 207-224.
• Grossman, G.M., A.B. Krueger (1991) “Environmental İmpacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement”, in NBER (Ed.), Working Paper 3914.
• Grossman, G.M., A.B. Krueger (1993) “Pollution and Growth: What do We Know?”, in I. Goldin, L. Winters (eds.), The Economics of Sustainable Development, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Grossman, G., A. Krueger (1995) “Economic Growth and the Environment”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, (May), 353-77.
• GEMS (2012) Global Environmental Monitoring System Official Web Page. www.gemswater.org.
• Hausman, J.A. (1978) “Specification Tests in Econometrics”, Econometrica, 46, 1251- 1270.
• Hill, R.J., E. Magnani (2002) “An Exploration of Conceptual and Emprical Basis of Environmental Kuznets Curve”, Australian Economic Paper, 41(2), 239- 54.
• Im, K.S., M.H. Pesaran, et al., (2003) “Testing for Unit Roots in Heterogeneous Panels”, Journal of Econometrics, 115(1), 53-74.
• Jaffe, A.B., S.R. Peterson, P.R. Portney (1995) “Environmental Regulation and the Competitiveness of U.S. Manufacturing: What does the Evidence Tell Us?”, Journal of Economic Literature, 33(1), 132-163.
• Jänicke, M., M. Binder, H. Mönch (1997) “Dirty Industries: Patterns of Change in Industrial Countries”, Environmental and Resource Economics, 9, 467- 491.
• Kaufmann, R., B. Davidsdotter, S. Garnham (1995) “The Determinants of Atmospheric SO2 Concentrations: Considering the Environmental Kuznets Curve”, Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Boston: Boston University.
• Lopez, R. (Ed.)., (1992) The Environment as a Factor of Production: The Economic Growth and Trade Policy Linkages, Washington D.C.: World Bank.
• Kuznets, S. (1955) “Economic Growth and Income Inequality”, American Economic Review, 45(1), 1-28.
• Mani, M., D. Wheeler (1998) “ In Search of Pollution Havens? Dirty Industry in the World Economy, 1960–1995”, Journal of Environment and Development, 7(3), 215-247.
• Meadows, D., E. Zahn, P. Milling (1972) The Limits to Growth, New York: Universe Books.
• Panayotou, T. (1993) “Empirical Tests and Policy Analysis of Environmental Degradation at Different Stages of Economic Development”, Working Paper WP238 Technology and Employment Programme, Geneva: International Labor Office.
• Panayotou, T. (1997a) “Emerging Asia: Environment and Natural Resources, in Emerging Asia; Changes and Challenges, Manila: Asian Development Bank, 2, part 4.
• Panayotou, T. (1997b) “Demystifying the Environmental Kuznets Curve: Turning a Black Box into a Policy Tool”, Environment and Development Economics, 4(2), 465–84.
• Panayotou, T. (2003) “Economic Growth and the Environment”, Spring Seminar of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, March 3, Geneva.
• Pedroni, P. (1999) “Critical Values for Cointegration Tests in Heterogeneous Panels with Multiple Regressors”, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 61, 653–670.
• Piaggio, M., E. Padilla (2011) “CO2 Emission and Economic Activity: Heterogeneity across Countries and non Stationary Series”, Esee 2011, 9th International Conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics, 14-17, July, 2011, Istanbul.
• Raspiller, S., N. Riedinger (2004) “ Do Environmental Regulations Influence the Location Behavior of French Firms?”, Paper Presented at the Thirteenth Annual Conference of the EAERE, Budapest, Hungary.
• Selden, T.M., D. Song (1994) “ Environmental Quality and Development: Is There a Kuznets Curve for Air Pollution Emissions?”, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 27, 147-162.
• Secretariat of The Economic Commission For Europe Geneva (2003) Economic Survey of Europe, New York and Geneva: United Nation
• Stern, D.I., M.S. Common (2001) “Is There an Environmental Kuznets Curve for Sulfur?”, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 41, 162-178.
• Shafik, N. (1994) “Economic Development and Environmental Quality: An Econometric Analysis”, Oxford Economic Papers, 46, 757-7732.
• Shafik, N., S. Bandyopadhyay (1992) “Economic Growth and Environmental Quality: Time Series and Cross-Country Evidence”, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, WPS 904.
• Torras, M., J.K. Boyce (1998) “Income, Inequality, and Pollution: A Reassessment of the Environmental Kuznet Curve”, Ecological Economics, 25, 147-160.
• Van Beers, C., J.C.J.M. Van den Bergh (1997) “ An Empirical Multicountry Analysis of the Impact of Environmental Regulations on Foreign Trade Flows”, Kyklos, 50(1), 29-46.
• Wanger, M. (2008) “The Carbon Kuznets Curve: A Cloudy Picture emmited by Bad Econometrics?”, Resourse and Energy Economics, 30(3), 388-408.
• World Bank (1992) World Development Report 1992, New York: Oxford University Press.
• World Bank (2012) World Bank Group Official Web Page. www.worldbank.org.