EN BÜYÜK PLASTİK TÜKETİCİSİ OLAN ÇİN’DE PLASTİK TÜKETİMİ, KARBON EMİSYONU VE SAĞLIK HARCAMASI İLİŞKİSİ

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 25 Sayı: 2, 349 - 369, 30.06.2024

Tunahan Değirmenci

https://doi.org/10.53443/anadoluibfd.1367925

Öz

Plastik günümüzde her alanda kullanılan bir materyaldir. Plastiklerin büyük bir bölümü kullanıldıktan sonra geri dönüştürülememektedir. Atıklar genellikle yakılarak yok edilmektedir. Plastik atıkların bu şekilde bertarafının karbon emisyonlarını ve sağlık hizmetleri etkileyeceği konusunda çeşitli görüşler bulunmaktadır. Çin'in dünyanın en fazla plastik tüketen ülkesi olması, plastik atıkların yönetimi açısından ciddi zorluklar ortaya koymaktadır. Bu çalışmada, 1990-2019 dönemi için en fazla plastik tüketicisi olan Çin'de plastik tüketimi, karbon emisyonları ve sağlık harcamaları arasındaki ilişki Fourier Toda-Yamamoto nedensellik testiyle incelenmektedir. Çalışma sonuçları, plastik tüketiminden karbon emisyonlarına ve sağlık harcamalarına doğru bir nedensellik ilişkisi olduğunu göstermektedir. Ayrıca bulgulara göre karbon emisyonlarından sağlık harcamalarına doğru bir nedensellik ilişkisi bulunmaktadır. Bu sonuçlar plastik tüketiminin sağlık harcamaları üzerinde doğrudan ve dolaylı etkileri olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu bağlamda politika yapıcıların plastik atık yönetimine ilişkin politikaları gözden geçirmesi önerilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Plastik Atık, Karbon Emisyonu, Sağlık Harcamaları, Çevre Kirliliği, Fourier Nedensellik

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLASTIC CONSUMPTION, CARBON EMISSION AND HEALTH EXPENDITURE IN CHINA, THE LARGEST PLASTIC CONSUMER

Öz

Plastic is a material used in every field today. Most plastics cannot be recycled after use. Waste is generally destroyed by burning. There are various views on whether this disposal of plastic waste will affect carbon emissions and healthcare. The fact that China is the country that consumes the most plastic in the world poses serious challenges in terms of management of plastic waste. In this study, the relationship between plastic consumption, carbon emissions and health expenditures in China, which was the largest plastic consumer for the period 1990-2019, is examined with the Fourier Toda-Yamamoto causality test. The study results show that there is a causal relationship from plastic consumption to carbon emissions and health expenditures. Additionally, according to the findings, there is a causal relationship from carbon emissions to health expenditures. These results show that plastic consumption has direct and indirect effects on health expenditures. In this context, it is recommended that policy makers review policies regarding plastic waste management.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Plastic Waste, Carbon Emissions, Health Expenditures, Environmental Pollution, Fourier Causality

Kaynakça

• Adekanmbi, A. O., Ani, E. C., Abatan, A., Izuka, U., Ninduwezuor-Ehiobu, N., & Obaigbena, A. (2024). Assessing the environmental and health impacts of plastic production and recycling. World Journal of Biology Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 17(2), 232-241.
• Alola, A. A., & Kirikkaleli, D. (2019). The nexus of environmental quality with renewable consumption, immigration, and healthcare in the US: wavelet and gradual-shift causality approaches. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(34), 35208-35217.
• Apergis, N., Gupta, R., Lau, C. K. M., & Mukherjee, Z. (2018). US state-level carbon dioxide emissions: does it affect health care expenditure?. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 91, 521-530.
• Averchenkova, A., Fankhauser, S., & Finnegan, J. J. (2021). The impact of strategic climate legislation: evidence from expert interviews on the UK Climate Change Act. Climate Policy, 21(2), 251-263.
• Aydın, M. (2020). Seçilmiş OECD ülkelerinde çevre vergilerinin çevre kirliliği üzerindeki etkileri: Yapısal kırılmalı nedensellik testinden kanıtlar. Uluslararası İktisadi ve İdari İncelemeler Dergisi, (28), 137-154.
• Aydin, M., & Bozatli, O. (2023). The impacts of the refugee population, renewable energy consumption, carbon emissions, and economic growth on health expenditure in Turkey: New evidence from Fourier-based analyses. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(14), 41286-41298.
• Aydin, M., & Degirmenci, T. (2023). The impact of clean energy consumption, green innovation, and technological diffusion on environmental sustainability: New evidence from load capacity curve hypothesis for 10 European Union countries. Sustainable Development, 32(3), 2358-2370.
• Aydin, M., Degirmenci, T., & Yavuz, H. (2023). The influence of multifactor productivity, research and development expenditure, renewable energy consumption on ecological footprint in G7 Countries: Testing the environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis. Environmental Modeling & Assessment, 28, 693-708.
• Aydin, M., Degirmenci, T., Bozatli, O., & Balsalobre-Lorente, D. (2024). Fresh evidence of the impact of economic complexity, health expenditure, natural resources, plastic consumption, and renewable energy in air pollution deaths in the USA? An empirical approach. Science of The Total Environment, 171127.
• Aydin, M., Degirmenci, T., Gurdal, T., & Yavuz, H. (2023). The role of green innovation in achieving environmental sustainability in European Union countries: Testing the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Gondwana Research, 118, 105-116.
• Badulescu, D., Simut, R., Badulescu, A., & Badulescu, A. V. (2019). The relative effects of economic growth, environmental pollution and non-communicable diseases on health expenditures in European Union countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(24), 5115.
• Bennett, J. E., Tamura-Wicks, H., Parks, R. M., Burnett, R. T., Pope III, C. A., Bechle, M. J., ... & Ezzati, M. (2019). Particulate matter air pollution and national and county life expectancy loss in the USA: A spatiotemporal analysis. PLoS Medicine, 16(7), e1002856.
• Blázquez-Fernández, C., Cantarero-Prieto, D., & Pascual-Sáez, M. (2019). On the nexus of air pollution and health expenditures: new empirical evidence. Gaceta sanitaria, 33, 389-394.
• Chaabouni, S., & Saidi, K. (2017). The dynamic links between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, health spending and GDP growth: A case study for 51 countries. Environmental research, 158, 137-144.
• Chaabouni, S., Zghidi, N., & Mbarek, M. B. (2016). On the causal dynamics between CO2 emissions, health expenditures and economic growth. Sustainable Cities and Society, 22, 184-191.
• Chen, L., Zhuo, Y., Xu, Z., Xu, X., & Gao, X. (2019). Is carbon dioxide (CO2) emission an important factor affecting healthcare expenditure? Evidence from China, 2005–2016. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, 16(20), 3995.
• Chu, J., Liu, H., & Salvo, A. (2021). Air pollution as a determinant of food delivery and related plastic waste. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(2), 212-220.
• Cornes, R., & Sandler, T. (1985). Externalities, expectations, and Pigouvian taxes. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 12(1), 1-13.
• Degirmenci, T., & Aydin, M. (2023). The effects of environmental taxes on environmental pollution and unemployment: A panel co‐integration analysis on the validity of double dividend hypothesis for selected African countries. International Journal of Finance & Economics, 28(3), 2231-2238.
• Degirmenci, T., & Yavuz, H. (2021). Emisyon azaltım sorumluluğu olan bm ülkelerinde hava kirliliği, sağlık harcamaları ve ekonomik büyüme ilişkisi. Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Dergisi, 16(3), 856-872.
• Değirmenci, T. ve İnal, V. (2019). Çevre koruma harcamalarının çevre kirliliği üzerindeki etkisi: Seçilmiş OECD ülkeleri analizi. Bilgi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 21(2), 232-250.
• Değirmenci, T., & Aydin, M. (2020). Çevre koruma harcamaları ile gelir dağılımı ve ekonomik büyüme arasındaki dinamik ilişkiler: Seçili OECD ülkeleri için panel nedensellik yaklaşımı. Sosyoekonomi, 28(46), 391-406.
• Enders, W., & Lee, J. (2012). The flexible Fourier form and Dickey–Fuller type unit root tests. Economics Letters, 117(1), 196-199.
• EPA. (2023). United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/epa-scientists-find-association-between-air-pollution-and-hospitalization-rates adresinden erişildi.
• FFI. (2023). Fauna&Flora International, plastic pollution crisis – New report highlights health impacts on world’s poorest. https://www.fauna-flora.org/news/plastic-pollution-crisis-new-report-highlights-health-impacts-worlds-poorest/ adresinden erişildi.
• Fucic, A., Galea, K. S., Duca, R. C., El Yamani, M., Frery, N., Godderis, L., ... & Moshammer, H. (2018). Potential health risk of endocrine disruptors in construction sector and plastics industry: a new paradigm in occupational health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(6), 1-11.
• Giacovelli, C. (2018). Single-use plastics: A roadmap for sustainability. United Nations Environment Programme. https://www.unep.org/resources/report/single-use-plastics-roadmap-sustainability adresinden erişildi.
• Gündüz, M. (2020). Healthcare expenditure and carbon footprint in the USA: evidence from hidden cointegration approach. The European Journal of Health Economics, 21(5), 801-811.
• Hahladakis, J. N., Velis, C. A., Weber, R., Iacovidou, E., & Purnell, P. (2018). An overview of chemical additives present in plastics: Migration, release, fate and environmental impact during their use, disposal and recycling. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 344, 179-199.
• Haseeb, M., Kot, S., Hussain, H. I., & Jermsittiparsert, K. (2019). Impact of economic growth, environmental pollution, and energy consumption on health expenditure and R&D expenditure of ASEAN countries. Energies, 12(19), 3598.
• Hu, M., Shahzadi, I., Raza, S. A., & Niu, X. (2024). Linkages between greenness, socioeconomic conditions, air pollution, and public health in China: does income inequality matters?. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 17(1), 125-138.
• Idumah, C. I., & Nwuzor, I. C. (2019). Novel trends in plastic waste management. SN Applied Sciences, 1, 1-14.
• IEA (2023), Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report, 2023, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/tracking-sdg7-the-energy-progress-report-2023 adresinden erişildi.
• Jerrett, M., Eyles, J., Dufournaud, C., & Birch, S. (2003). Environmental influences on healthcare expenditures: an exploratory analysis from Ontario, Canada. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 57(5), 334-338.
• Khoshnevis Yazdi, S., & Khanalizadeh, B. (2017). Air pollution, economic growth and health care expenditure. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 30(1), 1181-1190.
• Kılıçer, E. (2018). Plastik poşet vergisi ve örnek ülke uygulamaları. Vergi Sorunları Dergisi, (357), 55-67.
• Künü, S., & Levent, C. (2023). Sağlık harcamaları, CO2 emisyonu ve ekonomik büyüme ilişkisi: Seçilmiş AB ülkeleri örneği. Uluslararası Ekonomi ve Yenilik Dergisi, 9(1), 95-110.
• Li, F., Chang, T., Wang, M. C., & Zhou, J. (2022). The relationship between health expenditure, CO2 emissions, and economic growth in the BRICS countries—Based on the Fourier ARDL model. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29, 10908–10927.
• Mısır, A., & Arıkan, O. (2022). Avrupa Birliği (AB) ve Türkiye’de döngüsel ekonomi ve sıfır atık yönetimi. Çevre İklim ve Sürdürülebilirlik, 23(1), 69-78.
• Mujtaba, G., & Ashfaq, S. (2022). The impact of environment degrading factors and remittances on health expenditure: an asymmetric ARDL and dynamic simulated ARDL approach. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29, 8560–8576.
• Mujtaba, G., & Shahzad, S. J. H. (2021). Air pollutants, economic growth and public health: implications for sustainable development in OECD countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 12686-12698.
• Narayan, P. K., & Narayan, S. (2008). Does environmental quality influence health expenditures? Empirical evidence from a panel of selected OECD countries. Ecological Economics, 65(2), 367-374.
• Nazlioglu, S., Gormus, N. A., & Soytas, U. (2016). Oil prices and real estate investment trusts (REITs): Gradual-shift causality and volatility transmission analysis. Energy Economics, 60, 168-175.
• OECD (2022a). Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/global-plastics-outlook_aa1edf33-en adresinden erişildi.
• OECD (2022b). Global Plastics Outlook. https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastic-pollution-is-growing-relentlessly-as-waste-management-and-recycling-fall-short.htm adresinden erişild.
• Parry, I. W. (1998). Pollution regulation and the efficiency gains from technological innovation. Journal of Regulatory Economics, 14(3), 229-254.
• Savaşan, F. (2015), Kamu ekonomisi (5. Baskı). Bursa: Dora.
• Shahzad, K., Jianqiu, Z., Hashim, M., Nazam, M., & Wang, L. (2020). Impact of using information and communication technology and renewable energy on health expenditure: A case study from Pakistan. Energy, 204, 1-9.
• Singh, N., Ogunseitan, O. A., & Tang, Y. (2022). Medical waste: Current challenges and future opportunities for sustainable management. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 52(11), 2000-2022.
• Slama, A., Śliwczyński, A., Woźnica, J., Zdrolik, M., Wiśnicki, B., Kubajek, J., ... & Franek, E. (2019). Impact of air pollution on hospital admissions with a focus on respiratory diseases: a time-series multi-city analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26, 16998-17009.
• Sridharan, S., Kumar, M., Singh, L., Bolan, N. S., & Saha, M. (2021). Microplastics as an emerging source of particulate air pollution: A critical review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 418, 1-15.
• Suter, G. W. (2008). Ecological risk assessment in the United States Environmental Protection Agency: A historical overview. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 4(3), 285-289.
• Toda, H. Y., & Yamamoto, T. (1995). Statistical inference in vector autoregressions with possibly integrated processes. Journal of Econometrics, 66(1-2), 225-250.
• Ullah, I., Ali, S., Shah, M. H., Yasim, F., Rehman, A., & Al-Ghazali, B. M. (2019). Linkages between trade, CO2 emissions and healthcare spending in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(21), 4298.
• UNEP. (2023). Our planet is choking on plastic. https://www.unep.org/interactives/beat-plastic-pollution/, adresinden erişildi.
• Unfried, K., & Wang, F. (2022). Importing air pollution? Evidence from China's plastic waste imports. Evidence from China's plastic waste imports (IZA DP No. 15218). https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/15218/importing-air-pollution-evidence-from-chinas-plastic-waste-imports adresinden erişildi.
• Usman, M., Ma, Z., Wasif Zafar, M., Haseeb, A., & Ashraf, R. U. (2019). Are air pollution, economic and non-economic factors associated with per capita health expenditures? Evidence from emerging economies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(11), 1967.
• Vega, G. C., Gross, A., & Birkved, M. (2021). The impacts of plastic products on air pollution-A simulation study for advanced life cycle inventories of plastics covering secondary microplastic production. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 28, 848-865.
• Wang, C. M., Hsueh, H. P., Li, F., & Wu, C. F. (2019a). Bootstrap ARDL on health expenditure, CO2 emissions, and GDP growth relationship for 18 OECD countries. Frontiers in public health, 7, 1-9.
• Wang, Z., Asghar, M. M., Zaidi, S. A. H., & Wang, B. (2019b). Dynamic linkages among CO 2 emissions, health expenditures, and economic growth: empirical evidence from Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26, 15285-15299.
• WHO. (2023a). Clean air and energy access for healthier populations and universal health coverage, https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/air-pollution-documents/air-quality-and-health/aqh_strategy_layout_v14_spreads.pdf?sfvrsn=918db48f_6&download=true adresinden erişildi.
• WHO. (2023b). Air Pollution. https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1 adresinden erişildi.
• Xin, Z., & Tsuda, T. (2017). Evaluating the effects of air pollution from a plastic recycling facility on the health of nearby residents. Acta Medica Okayama, 71(3), 209-217.
• Yahaya, A., Nor, N. M., Habibullah, M. S., Ghani, J. A., & Noor, Z. M. (2016). How relevant is environmental quality to per capita health expenditures? Empirical evidence from panel of developing countries. SpringerPlus, 5, 1-14.
• Yang, B., & Usman, M. (2021). Do industrialization, economic growth and globalization processes influence the ecological footprint and healthcare expenditures? Fresh insights based on the STIRPAT model for countries with the highest healthcare expenditures. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 28, 893-910.
• Yi, Y., Wei, Z., & Fu, C. (2021). An optimal combination of emissions tax and green innovation subsidies for polluting oligopolies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 284, 1-18.
• Zaidi, S., & Saidi, K. (2018). Environmental pollution, health expenditure and economic growth in the Sub-Saharan Africa countries: Panel ARDL approach. Sustainable Cities and Society, 41, 833-840.
• Zhang, C., & Zhang, L. (2024). The relationship between toxic air pollution, health expenditure, and economic growth in the European Union: Fresh evidence from the PMG-ARDL model. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31(14):21107-21123.
• Zlaugotne, B., Pubule, J., Gusca, J., & Kalnins, S. N. (2022). Quantitative and qualitative assessment of healthcare waste and resource potential assessment. Rigas Tehniskas Universitates Zinatniskie Raksti, 26(1), 64-74.