IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wodepe/v26y2022ics2452292922000182.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the relationship between income inequality and pollution: A fresh perspective with cross-country evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Das, Monica
  • Basu, Sudip Ranjan

Abstract

This paper uses a novel approach to re-examine the relationship between income inequality and pollution and shows that protecting the environment can have an added advantage of creating a just and inclusive society. Pollution threatens health and livelihoods of vulnerable groups, in turn making them even more vulnerable, creating a vicious cycle. We investigate if sustainable environmental policies can mitigate the impact of pollution on these vulnerable groups, while addressing inclusion. The novel methodology provides an estimate of the inequality-pollution relationship for every country-year observation, allowing us to examine the relationship of interest for various country groups, using a panel data of 129 countries during 1990–2014. It also deals with model mis-specification bias as well as bias from endogenous regressors. Our results indicate, pollution increases inequality in countries with above average GDP/capita or below average natural or human capital. These results are sensitive to a country’s stage of development and should be of particular interest to scholars and policy makers of the Asian-Pacific region, where lately rapid industrialization and urbanization is a driving force behind an upward trend in environmental pollution.

Suggested Citation

  • Das, Monica & Basu, Sudip Ranjan, 2022. "Understanding the relationship between income inequality and pollution: A fresh perspective with cross-country evidence," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wodepe:v:26:y:2022:i:c:s2452292922000182
    DOI: 10.1016/j.wdp.2022.100410
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292922000182
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.wdp.2022.100410?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert C. Feenstra & Robert Inklaar & Marcel P. Timmer, 2015. "The Next Generation of the Penn World Table," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(10), pages 3150-3182, October.
    2. Sudip Ranjan Basu, 2017. "Do data show divergence? Revisiting global income inequality trends," Asia-Pacific Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 24(1), pages 23-53, June.
    3. Daniel L. Millimet & John A. List & Thanasis Stengos, 2003. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve: Real Progress or Misspecified Models?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(4), pages 1038-1047, November.
    4. Peter Hall & Qi Li & Jeffrey S. Racine, 2007. "Nonparametric Estimation of Regression Functions in the Presence of Irrelevant Regressors," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(4), pages 784-789, November.
    5. Durlauf, Steven N. & Kourtellos, Andros & Minkin, Artur, 2001. "The local Solow growth model," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 928-940, May.
    6. Robinson, Sherman, 1976. "A Note on the U Hypothesis Relating Income Inequality and Economic Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(3), pages 437-440, June.
    7. Scruggs, Lyle A., 1998. "Political and economic inequality and the environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 259-275, September.
    8. Bir Chhetri & Helle Larsen & Carsten Smith-Hall, 2015. "Environmental resources reduce income inequality and the prevalence, depth and severity of poverty in rural Nepal," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 513-530, June.
    9. Richard Blundell & Alan Duncan & Krishna Pendakur, 1998. "Semiparametric estimation and consumer demand," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(5), pages 435-461.
    10. Whitney K. Newey & James L. Powell & Francis Vella, 1999. "Nonparametric Estimation of Triangular Simultaneous Equations Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(3), pages 565-604, May.
    11. Daniel J. Henderson & Chris Papageorgiou & Christopher F. Parmeter, 2012. "Growth Empirics without Parameters," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(559), pages 125-154, March.
    12. Maasoumi, Esfandiar & Racine, Jeff & Stengos, Thanasis, 2007. "Growth and convergence: A profile of distribution dynamics and mobility," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 136(2), pages 483-508, February.
    13. Glenn-Marie Lange & Quentin Wodon & Kevin Carey, 2018. "The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 29001, December.
    14. Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 1994. "North-South Trade and the Environment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(3), pages 755-787.
    15. James Boyce, 1994. "Inequality as a Cause of Environmental Degradation," Published Studies ps1, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    16. Torras, Mariano & Boyce, James K., 1998. "Income, inequality, and pollution: a reassessment of the environmental Kuznets Curve," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 147-160, May.
    17. Liu, Zhenjuan & Stengos, Thanasis, 1999. "Non-linearities in Cross-Country Growth Regressions: A Semiparametric Approach," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(5), pages 527-538, Sept.-Oct.
    18. Robinson, Peter M, 1988. "Root- N-Consistent Semiparametric Regression," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(4), pages 931-954, July.
    19. Pagan,Adrian & Ullah,Aman, 1999. "Nonparametric Econometrics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521355643.
    20. Su, Liangjun & Ullah, Aman, 2008. "Local polynomial estimation of nonparametric simultaneous equations models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 144(1), pages 193-218, May.
    21. Moon Joon Kim, 2021. "Air Pollution, Health, and Avoidance Behavior: Evidence from South Korea," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(1), pages 63-91, May.
    22. Boyce, James K., 1994. "Inequality as a cause of environmental degradation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 169-178, December.
    23. Matthieu Clement & Andre Meunie, 2010. "Is Inequality Harmful for the Environment? An Empirical Analysis Applied to Developing and Transition Countries," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 68(4), pages 413-445.
    24. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    25. Joyeeta Gupta & Nicky R M Pouw & Mirjam A F Ros-Tonen, 2015. "Towards an Elaborated Theory of Inclusive Development," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 27(4), pages 541-559, September.
    26. Delgado, Michael S. & Parmeter, Christopher F., 2014. "A simple estimator for partial linear regression with endogenous nonparametric variables," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(1), pages 100-103.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Hongsheng & Xiong, Peizhi & Yang, Shangzhao & Yu, Jinna, 2023. "Renewable energy utilization, green finance and agricultural land expansion in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Henderson, Daniel J. & Papageorgiou, Chris & Parmeter, Christopher F., 2013. "Who benefits from financial development? New methods, new evidence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 47-67.
    2. Qi Li & Jeffrey Scott Racine, 2006. "Nonparametric Econometrics: Theory and Practice," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 8355.
    3. Michael S. Delgado & Daniel J. Henderson & Christopher F. Parmeter, 2014. "Does Education Matter for Economic Growth?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 76(3), pages 334-359, June.
    4. Delgado, Michael S. & Parmeter, Christopher F., 2014. "A simple estimator for partial linear regression with endogenous nonparametric variables," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(1), pages 100-103.
    5. Wan, Guanghua & Wang, Chen & Wang, Jinxian & Zhang, Xun, 2022. "The income inequality-CO2 emissions nexus: Transmission mechanisms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    6. Alexandre BERTHE & Luc ELIE, 2014. "Les conséquences environnementales des inégalités économiques : structuration théorique et perspectives de recherche (In French)," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2014-18, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    7. Azomahou, Théophile T. & El ouardighi, Jalal & Nguyen-Van, Phu & Pham, Thi Kim Cuong, 2011. "Testing convergence of European regions: A semiparametric approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 1202-1210, May.
    8. Obadiah Jonathan Gimba & Abdulkareem Alhassan & Huseyin Ozdeser & Wafa Ghardallou & Mehdi Seraj & Ojonugwa Usman, 2023. "Towards low carbon and sustainable environment: does income inequality mitigate ecological footprints in Sub-Saharan Africa?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(9), pages 10425-10445, September.
    9. Bo Yang & Minhaj Ali & Shujahat Haider Hashmi & Mohsin Shabir, 2020. "Income Inequality and CO 2 Emissions in Developing Countries: The Moderating Role of Financial Instability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-24, August.
    10. Kashwan, Prakash, 2017. "Inequality, democracy, and the environment: A cross-national analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 139-151.
    11. Daniel J. Henderson, 2010. "A test for multimodality of regression derivatives with application to nonparametric growth regressions," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(3), pages 458-480.
    12. Sager, Lutz, 2019. "Income inequality and carbon consumption: Evidence from Environmental Engel curves," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).
    13. Nyakundi M. Michieka & John Deal & Kyle Lahman, 2022. "Air pollution and income inequality: a spatial econometric approach," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 69(1), pages 1-31, August.
    14. Matthieu Clement & Andre Meunie, 2010. "Is Inequality Harmful for the Environment? An Empirical Analysis Applied to Developing and Transition Countries," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 68(4), pages 413-445.
    15. Berthe, Alexandre & Elie, Luc, 2015. "Mechanisms explaining the impact of economic inequality on environmental deterioration," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 191-200.
    16. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Chiou, Yan-Yu, 2017. "Insurance activities, globalization, and economic growth: New methods, new evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 155-170.
    17. Lei HU, 2016. "Would Urban–Rural Income Gap Affect Carbon Dioxide Emissions? Empirical Research Based on the Extended IPAT Model," Chinese Journal of Urban and Environmental Studies (CJUES), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(02), pages 1-13, June.
    18. Salih Ozturk & Murat Cetin & Harun Demir, 2022. "Income inequality and CO2 emissions: nonlinear evidence from Turkey," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(10), pages 11911-11928, October.
    19. Patrick Saart & Jiti Gao & Nam Hyun Kim, 2014. "Semiparametric methods in nonlinear time series analysis: a selective review," Journal of Nonparametric Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 141-169, March.
    20. Théophile T. Azomahou & Jalal El Ouardighi & Phu Nguyen Van & Thi Kim Cuong Pham, 2006. "Estimation semi-paramétrique de la convergence des régions européennes," Economie & Prévision, La Documentation Française, vol. 0(2), pages 97-110.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wodepe:v:26:y:2022:i:c:s2452292922000182. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/world-development-perspectives .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.