Towards low carbon and sustainable environment: does income inequality mitigate ecological footprints in Sub-Saharan Africa?
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Tarih
2023
Dergi Başlığı
Dergi ISSN
Cilt Başlığı
Yayıncı
Springer
Erişim Hakkı
info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
Özet
This paper contributes to the literature on the environment–economic development nexus by examining whether higher income inequality mitigates environmental degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa for the period 1995?2018. The paper uses the second-generation panel data estimation techniques through the novel augmented Anderson–Hsiao (AAH) estima tor. This method allows regressors to be self-instrumenting and efcient with panel data where the cross-sectional units are greater than time and remains valid even when errors are correlated. The result of the Westerlund cointegration confrms the existence of a long run relationship. Also, the AAH estimation fnds that a 1% increase in income inequality is associated with a 0.567 decline in environmental degradation. Furthermore, a rise in GDP per capita is linked to a reduction in environmental pollution. However, it does not vali date the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Population growth and urbanization were found to exacerbate environmental degradation while access to electric ity enhances a sustainable environment. To ensure the robustness of the AAH estimation, the Pseudo-Poison Maximum Likelihood Estimator with the high dimensional fxed efects was used. The results showed that, although the efects were smaller, all the coefcients survived. Therefore, our fndings substantiate the marginal propensity to emit hypothesis which posits that in economies with high inequality, there is the likelihood that a large proportion of the population would reduce their energy and other carbon-intensive con sumption, which consequently improves environmental quality. Although this channel of reducing emissions is not sustainable as it comes with huge economic losses. Policy rec ommendations were provided.
Açıklama
Anahtar Kelimeler
Income inequality, Low-carbon economy, Sustainable development, Electricity accessibility, Sub-Saharan Africa
Kaynak
Environment, Development and Sustainability
WoS Q Değeri
Q2
Scopus Q Değeri
N/A
Cilt
25
Sayı
9
