Abstract
Despite the growing literature on the inequality-emissions nexus, this area of empirical interest is still inconclusive, particularly in the era of globalization. Hence, this empirical work investigates the effect of income inequality on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions controlling the model for globalization. Considering the unique characteristics of various proxies of inequality, different proxies have been employed to develop an in-depth understanding of the inequality-emission nexus. The Driscoll-Kraay and generalized least square regression approaches are used for 38 sub-Saharan African countries from 1990 to 2016. Empirical results infer that higher income inequality promotes carbon reduction in the sample countries of the study. Further, findings suggest that globalization is beneficial for the environment by contributing to carbon emission mitigation. Several additional variables are used to validate the findings. The study offers some important policy implications in the end.
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The data that support the results of this research are accessible from the World Bank, BP Statistical Review, and WIPO, respectively.
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Funding
This study was supported by the “Research on the Influence Mechanism and Countermeasures of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area’s Labor Supply and Demand on Regional Economic Growth” (GD21CYJ26), “Research on the Coordinated Development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area’s Scientific and Technological Innovation and System Innovation” commissioned by the propaganda Department of Guangdong Provincial CPC Committee, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Guangdong Provincial Education Department Major Cultivation Project “Research on the Influence Mechanism and Policy of Foreign Trade Structure Adjustment on Labor Market” (71673063) (2016WZDXM027).
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Danish, Baloch, M.A. & Zhang, J. Analyzing environmental impact assessment of income inequality, globalization, and growth in sub-Saharan African countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 29598–29609 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24084-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24084-4