Environmental Quality and Economic Growth : The Case of Pacific Island Countries

概要

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The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationships between environmental quality and economic growth for Pacific Island countries. According to the Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, environmental quality is high at low levels of economic development. However, as countries develop, environmental quality worsens until it starts to improve at higher levels of economic development. Whereas several empirical papers have tested this hypothesis for both developed and developing countries, this is the first study to address this issue for Pacific Island countries. The results of both graphical and polynomial regression models indicate that an EKC relationship exists for Kiribati, New Caledonia, PNG, and the Solomon Islands. However, this is not the case for Fiji and French Polynesia. The finding of an EKC relationship does not imply that economic growth by itself will solve environmental problems. In order to achieve a significant improvement in environmental quality, there is a need for governments to increase expenditures on environmental management, as well as on public education and awareness.
鹿児島大学,カゴシマダイガク,Kagoshima Universityの論文