Open AccessExploring the link between environmental pollution and economic growth in EU-28 countries: Is there an environmental Kuznets curve?
Author(s) -
Daniel Armeanu,
Georgeta Vintilă,
A. J. Vasile,
Ştefan Cristian Gherghina,
Mihaela Cristina Drăgoi,
Teodor Cristian
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0195708
Subject(s) - kuznets curve , greenhouse gas , economics , energy consumption , per capita , econometrics , environmental pollution , pollution haven hypothesis , methane , natural resource economics , granger causality , environmental science , environmental protection , ecology , biology , population , demography , sociology , environmental regulation
This study examines the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis (EKC), considering the primary energy consumption among other country-specific variables, for a panel of the EU-28 countries during the period 1990–2014. By estimating pooled OLS regressions with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors in order to account for cross-sectional dependence, the results confirm the EKC hypothesis in the case of emissions of sulfur oxides and emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds. In addition to pooled estimations, the output of fixed-effects regressions with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors support the EKC hypothesis for greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas emissions intensity of energy consumption, emissions of nitrogen oxides, emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds and emissions of ammonia. Additionally, the empirical findings from panel vector error correction model reveal a short-run unidirectional causality from GDP per capita growth to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a bidirectional causal link between primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, since there occurred no causal link between economic growth and primary energy consumption, the neo-classical view was confirmed, namely the neutrality hypothesis.