Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Apr;30(18):53007-53019. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-25835-7. Epub 2023 Feb 27.
This study explores the role of governance in shaping the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), especially focusing on its curvature and turning point. The study highlights the role of various governance indicators in the formulation, implementation, and enforcement of environmental regulations. However, the study asserts that since in developing countries poverty, infrastructure, and human development are valued above a clean environment, good governance is less likely to contribute to mitigating pollution in developing countries. Using a panel of 160 countries, the study finds that better governance helps bring down the critical level of per capita income at which the relationship between income and pollution turns negative. Furthermore, the EKC can be shifted downward by improving governance in the respective countries. The study, however, reveals that the dividends of better governance are more pronounced at higher income levels. Since good governance works only when the desired regulations are in place, it is recommended that for poor countries aid packages for governance reforms need to emphasize the enactment of specific environmental regulations. Investment in institutions is expected to yield maximum dividends in such countries that have gained high-income status but are still lacking in institutional development.
本研究探讨了治理在塑造环境库兹涅茨曲线（EKC）中的作用，特别关注其曲率和转折点。研究强调了各种治理指标在环境法规的制定、实施和执行中的作用。然而，研究断言，由于在发展中国家，贫困、基础设施和人类发展的重要性超过了清洁环境，因此良好的治理不太可能有助于减轻发展中国家的污染。该研究使用了 160 个国家的面板数据，发现更好的治理有助于降低人均收入的临界水平，在这个水平上，收入和污染之间的关系会变为负值。此外，通过改善各自国家的治理，可以使 EKC 向下移动。然而，研究表明，更好的治理的红利在更高的收入水平上更为明显。由于良好的治理只有在有适当的法规的情况下才有效，因此建议对于贫穷国家，治理改革援助计划需要强调制定具体的环境法规。在已经获得高收入地位但机构发展仍不完善的国家，投资于机构有望产生最大的红利。
