The Effects of Income Inequality on Carbon Dioxide Emissions: A Cross-Country Analysis
Income inequality and environmental pollution are two growing threats humanity faces in the twenty-first century. We analyze how income inequality affects carbon dioxide emissions through consumption behaviour (economic) and policy (public policy) channels. We analyzed 103 countries using Random Effects Regression model for annual data from 2015 to 2021. The analysis was done for all the countries in the study and separately for OIC and non-OIC member countries. We found that a rise in income inequality leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions in all countries and sub-panels. In non-OIC member countries, the increase in poor people leads to increased CO2 emissions through the consumption channel, but the impact is much smaller. In OIC countries, the relationship is positive, and the impact is much more. An increase in FDI leads to increased CO2 emissions in all countries, but it is the opposite in OIC countries. Therefore, policymakers should focus on the link between energy efficiency and social inequality to stop the cycle of energy inefficiency and energy poverty.
History
Language
- English
Publication Year
- 2022
License statement
© The author. The author has granted HBKU and Qatar Foundation a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to reproduce, display and distribute the manuscript in whole or in part in any form to be posted in digital or print format and made available to the public at no charge. Unless otherwise specified in the copyright statement or the metadata, all rights are reserved by the copyright holder. For permission to reuse content, please contact the author.Institution affiliated with
- Hamad Bin Khalifa University
- College of Islamic Studies - HBKU
Degree Date
- 2022
Degree Type
- Master's