Environmental Sustainability in Developing Countries: Does Democracy Matter?

Neslihan Ursavaş

karakoc.neslihan@gmail.com
University of Liverpool, Geographic Data Science Lab, Liverpool (United Kingdom)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4640-8135

Şükrü Apaydın


Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Nevşehir, Turkey (Turkey)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4640-8135

Abstract

One of the sustainable development goals is to reduce environmental degradation and promote a sustainable environment. One of the significant factors in promoting a sustainable environment is the level of democracy in a country. This study investigates the impact of democracy on the ecological footprint (EF) per capita in 68 developing countries from 1990 to 2018. To do so, we use the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) estimators. The empirical findings show that there is a positive relationship between democracy and EF. In other words, an increase in democracy increases environmental degradation in developing countries. Besides, the findings also show that while an increase in GDP per capita increases EF, an increase in renewable energy consumption reduces EF. Overall, our findings show that democracy matters for environmental sustainability in developing countries. Therefore, governments and policymakers should consider democracy to formulate environmental policies.


Keywords:

sustainable development, ecological footprint, economic growth, renewable energy consumption

ADAMS S., ACHEAMPONG A.O., 2019, Reducing Carbon Emissions: The Role of Renewable Energy and Democra-cy, Journal of Cleaner Production, 240: 118-245.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118245   Google Scholar

ADAMS S., ADOM P.K., KLOBODU E.K.M., 2016, Urbanization, Regime Type and Durability, and Environmental Degradation in Ghana, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(23): 23825-23839.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7513-4   Google Scholar

ADAMS S., KLOBODU E.K.M., 2017, Urbanization, Democracy, Bureaucratic Quality, and Environmental Degradation, Journal of Policy Modeling, 39: 1035-1051.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2017.04.006   Google Scholar

ADAMS S., NSİAH C. 2019, Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Does Renewable Energy Matter?, Science of The Total Environment, 693: 133288.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.094   Google Scholar

AHMED Z., ADEBAYO T. S., UDEMBA E. N., MURSHED M., KİRİKKALELİ D., 2022, Effects of Economic Com-plexity, Economic Growth, and Renewable Energy Technology Budgets on Ecological Footprint: The Role of Democratic Accountability, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(17): 24925-24940.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17673-2   Google Scholar

AHMED Z., AHMAD M., RJOUB H., KALUGİNA O. A., HUSSAİN N., 2022, Economic Growth, Renewable Energy Consumption, and Ecological Footprint: Exploring The Role of Environmental Regulations and Democracy in Sustainable Development, Sustainable Development, 30(4): 595-605.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2251   Google Scholar

AHMED Z., ASGHAR M. M., MALİK M. N., NAWAZ K., 2020, Moving Towards A Sustainable Environment: The Dynamic Linkage Between Natural Resources, Human Capital, Urbanization, Economic Growth, and Ecological Footprint in China, Resources Policy, 67: 101677.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101677   Google Scholar

AHMED Z., CAGLAR A. E., MURSHED M., 2022, A Path Towards Environmental Sustainability: The Role of Clean Energy and Democracy in Ecological Footprint of Pakistan, Journal of Cleaner Production, 358, 132007.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132007   Google Scholar

AKALIN G., ERDOGAN S., 2021, Does Democracy Help Reduce Environmental Degradation?, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(6): 7226-7235.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11096-1   Google Scholar

ARVIN B.M., LEW B., 2011, Does Democracy Affect Environmental Quality in Developing Countries?, Applied Eco-nomics, 43(9): 1151-1160.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840802600277   Google Scholar

BERGE E. 1994, Democracy and Human Rights: Conditions For Sustainable Resource Utilization. The Third Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, 17-20 September, Washington, DC. https://hdl.handle.net/10535/813.
  Google Scholar

BERNAUER T., KOUBI V., 2004, On The Political Determinants of Environmental Quality, Paper Prepared for Presen-tation at The Annual Convention of The American Political Science Association in Chicago September 2-5.
  Google Scholar

BERNAUER T., KOUBI V., 2009, Political Determinants of Environmental Quality, Ecological Economics, 68(5): 1355-1365.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.09.003   Google Scholar

BINDER S., NEUMAYER E., 2005, Environmental Pressure Group Strength and Air Pollution: An Empirical Analysis, Ecological Economics, 55(4): 527-538.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2004.12.009   Google Scholar

BRENNA K.A., 2015, Democracy and Climate Change The Relationship Between Democracy and CO2-Emissions, Master's Thesis University Of Oslo, Norway.
  Google Scholar

BUITENZORGY M., MOL A.P.J., 2011, Does Democracy Lead To A Better Environment? Deforestation and The Dem-ocratic Transition Peak, Environmental and Resource Economics, 48:c59–70.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-010-9397-y   Google Scholar

CETIN M., ECEVIT E., YUCEL A.G., 2018, The Impact of Economic Growth, Energy Consumption, Trade Openness, and Financial Development on Carbon Emissions: Empirical Evidence From Turkey, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25(36): 36589-36603.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3526-5   Google Scholar

CHARFEDDINE L., MRABET Z., 2017, The Impact of Economic Development and Social-Political Factors on Ecologi-cal Footprint: A Panel Data Analysis For 15 MENA Countries, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 76: 138–154.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.03.031   Google Scholar

CHOU L. C., ZHANG W. H., WANG M. Y., YANG F. M., 2020, The Influence of Democracy on Emissions and Ener-gy Efficiency in America: New Evidence From Quantile Regression Analysis, Energy & Environment, 31(8): 1318-1334.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0958305X19882382   Google Scholar

CIEGIS R., RAMANAUSKIENE J., MARTINKUS B., 2009, The Concept of Sustainable Development and Its Use For Sustainability Scenarios, Engineering Economics, 62(2): 28-37.
  Google Scholar

CONGLETON R.D., 1992, Political Institutions and Pollution Control, The Review of Economics And Statistics, 74(3): 412-421.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2109485   Google Scholar

CAKMAK E. E., ACAR S., 2022, The Nexus Between Economic Growth, Renewable Energy and Ecological Footprint: An Empirical Evidence From Most Oil-Producing Countries, Journal of Cleaner Production, 352: 131548.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131548   Google Scholar

DESTEK M.A., OZSOY F.N., 2015, Relationships Between Economic Growth, Energy Consumption, Globalization, Urbanization and Environmental Degradation in Turkey, International Journal of Energy And Statistics, 3(4): 1-13.
  Google Scholar

DOGAN E., TURKEKUL B., 2016, CO2 Emissions, Real Output, Energy Consumption, Trade, Urbanization and Finan-cial Development: Testing The EKC Hypothesis For The USA, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(2): 1203-1213.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5323-8   Google Scholar

FARZANEGAN M.R., MARKWARDT G., 2018, Development and Pollution in the Middle East and North Africa: Democracy Matters, Journal of Policy Modeling, 40: 350–374.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2018.01.010   Google Scholar

FARZIN H.Y., BOND C.A., 2006, Democracy and Environmental Quality, Journal of Development Economics, 81: 213–235.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2005.04.003   Google Scholar

FREDRIKSSON P.G., NEUMAYER E., DAMANIA R., GATES S., 2005, Environmentalism, Democracy, and Pollu-tion Control, Journal of Environmental Economics And Management, 49(2): 343–365.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2004.04.004   Google Scholar

GALLAGHER K.P., THACKER S.C., 2008, Democracy, Income, and Environmental Quality, PERI Working Papers 124.
  Google Scholar

GANI A., SCRIMGEOUR F., 2014, Modeling Governance and Water Pollution Using The Institutional Ecological Eco-nomic Framework, Economic Modelling, 42: 363–372.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2014.07.011   Google Scholar

HASSAN S. T., BALOCH M. A., MAHMOOD N., ZHANG J., 2019, Linking Economic Growth and Ecological Foot-print Through Human Capital and Biocapacity, Sustainable Cities and Society, 47: 101516.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101516   Google Scholar

OTUNLUOĞLU H., YILMAZ G.S., 2018, Does Democracy Level Matter for the Carbon Dioxide Emissions? An Em-pricial Study for Turkey, Siyaset, Ekonomi ve Yönetim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 6(1) :133-141.
  Google Scholar

IEA (The International Energy Agency), 2020, Oil Market Report: March 2020, https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-market-report-march-2020.
  Google Scholar

JALIL A., MAHMUD S.F., 2009, Environment Kuznets Curve For CO2 Emissions: A Cointegration Analysis For Chi-na, Energy Policy, 37(12): 5167-5172.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.07.044   Google Scholar

KELSO M.A., 2011, Green Democracy: Political Participation and Environmental Protection, available at SSRN 1816372.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1816372   Google Scholar

KIM S., BAEK J., HEO E., 2019, A New Look at The Democracy–Environment Nexus: Evidence From Panel Data For High- And Low-Income Countries, Sustainability, 11: 1–14.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082353   Google Scholar

LI Q., REUVENY R., 2006, Democracy and Environmental Degradation, International Studies Quarterly, 50(4): 935.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2478.2006.00432.x   Google Scholar

LING G., RAZZAQ A., GUO Y., FATIMA T., SHAHZAD F., 2021, Asymmetric and Time-Varying Linkages Between Carbon Emissions, Globalization, Natural Resources and Financial Development in China, Environment, Development and Sustainability, 24: 6702-6730.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01724-2   Google Scholar

LIU Z., CIAIS P., DENG Z., LEI R., DAVIS S. J., FENG S., SCHELLNHUBER H. J., 2020, Near-Real-Time Monitor-ing of Global CO2 Emissions Reveals The Effects of The COVID-19 Pandemic, Nature communications, 11(1): 5172.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18922-7   Google Scholar

LV Z., 2017, The Effect of Democracy On CO2 Emissions in Emerging Countries: Does The Level of Income Matter?, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 72: 900–906.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.01.096   Google Scholar

MIDLARSKY M.I., 1998, Democracy and The Environment: An Empirical Assessment, Journal of Peace Research, 35(3): 341-361.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343398035003005   Google Scholar

MOUNDIGBAYE M., REA W. S., REED W. R., 2018, Which Panel Data Estimator Should I Use?: A Corrigendum and Extension, Economics: The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal, 12 (2018-4): 1–31,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2018-4   Google Scholar

https://www.doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2018-4.
  Google Scholar

NAZAROV Z., OBYDENKOVA A., 2022, Environmental Challenges and Political Regime Transition: The Role of Historical Legacies and the European Union in Eurasia, Problems of Post-Communism, 69(4-5), 396-409.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2021.1995437   Google Scholar

OECD, 2020, The Long-Term Environmental Implications of COVID-19, https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/the-long-term-environmental-implications-of-covid-19-4b7a9937.
  Google Scholar

OLSON M., 1993, Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development, The American Political Science Review, 87(3): 567-576.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2938736   Google Scholar

OZTURK I., ACARAVCI A., 2013, The Long-Run and Causal Analysis of Energy, Growth, Openness, and Financial Development on Carbon Emissions in Turkey, Energy Econ., 36: 262–267.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2012.08.025   Google Scholar

PARK H. M., 2011, Practical Guides To Panel Data Modeling: A Step-by-step Analysis Using Stata, Graduate School of International Relations, International University of Japan, Tutorial Working Paper.
  Google Scholar

PATA U.K., 2019, Environmental Kuznets Curve and Trade Openness in Turkey: Bootstrap ARDL Approach With A Structural Break, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(20): 20264-20276.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05266-z   Google Scholar

PAWŁOWSKI A., 2008, How many dimensions does sustainable development have? Sustainable Development, 16: 81–90.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.339   Google Scholar

PAWŁOWSKI A., 2011, Sustainable Development as a Civilizational Revolution: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Challenges of the 21st Century, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/b11326   Google Scholar

PELLEGRINI L., GERLAGH R., 2006, Corruption, Democracy, and Environmental Policy, The Journal of Environment And Development, 15(3): 332–354.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1070496506290960   Google Scholar

PESRAN M., 2004, General Diagnostic Tests for Cross Section Dependence in Panels, IZA Discussion Paper, 1240. https://docs.iza.org/dp1240.pdf.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.572504   Google Scholar

PODESTÀ F., 2002, Recent Developments in Quantitative Comparative Methodology: The Case of Pooled Time Series Cross-Section Analysis, DSS Papers Soc, 3(2): 5-44.
  Google Scholar

REED W.R., YE H., 2011, Which Panel Data Estimator Should I Use?, Applied Economics, 43(8): 985–1000. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/00036840802600087.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840802600087   Google Scholar

ROMUALD K.S., 2011, Democratic Institutions and Environmental Quality: Effects and Transmission Channels, EAAE 2011 Congress Switzerland.
  Google Scholar

RUME T., ISLAM S. D. U., 2020, Environmental Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic and Potential Strategies of Sustainabil-ity, Heliyon, 6(9): e04965.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04965   Google Scholar

SCRUGGS L., 2009, Democracy and Environmental Protection: An Empirical Analysis, Annual Meeting of The Mid-west Political Science Association 67th Annual National Conference, The Palmer House Hilton Chicago Illinois.
  Google Scholar

SHAHBAZ M., NASREEN S., AHMED K., HAMMOUDEH S., 2017, Trade Openness – Carbon Emissions Nexus: The Importance of Turning Points of Trade Openness For Country Panels, Energy Economics, 61: 221-232.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2016.11.008   Google Scholar

SHARIF A., BARIS-TUZEMEN O., UZUNER G., OZTURK I., SINHA A., 2020, Revisiting The Role of Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Consumption on Turkey’s Ecological Footprint: Evidence From Quantile ARDL Approach, Sustainable Cities and Society, 57: 102138
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102138   Google Scholar

SHARMA R., SINHA A., KAUTISH P., 2021, Does Renewable Energy Consumption Reduce Ecological Footprint? Evidence From Eight Developing Countries of Asia, Journal of Cleaner Production, 285: 124867.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124867   Google Scholar

TORRAS M., BOYCE J.K., 1998, Income, Inequality, and Pollution: A Reassessment of The Environmental Kuznets Curve, Ecological Economics, 25(2): 147-160.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8009(97)00177-8   Google Scholar

UN Environmental Programme, 2022, Emissions Gap Report, https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2022.
  Google Scholar

USMAN O., OLANIPEKUN I.O., IOREMBER P.T., ABU-GOODMAN M., 2020, Modelling Environmental Degrada-tion in South Africa: The Effects of Energy Consumption, Democracy, and Globalization Using Innovation Accounting Tests, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(8): 8334–8349.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06687-6   Google Scholar

URSAVAS N., 2021, The Impact of Democracy on Ecological Footprint in Turkey, Third Sector Social Economic Re-view, 56(4): 2745-2757.
  Google Scholar

URSAVAS N., 2022, The Impact of Democracy on Environmental Degradation in OECD Countries, Ekoist: Journal of Econometrics and Statistics, 37: 213-235.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26650/ekoist.2022.37.1118226   Google Scholar

VERA I., LANGLOIS L., 2007, Energy Indicators for Sustainable Development, Energy, 32(6): 875-882.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2006.08.006   Google Scholar

WACKERNAGEL M., REES W., 2004, What Is An Ecological Footprint, The Sustainable Urban Development Reader, eds. Wheeler S.M., Beatley T.: 211-219, Routledge, London.
  Google Scholar

WACKERNAGEL M., REES W., 1996, Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on The Earth, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island.
  Google Scholar

WARD H., 2006, International Linkages and Environmental Sustainability: The Effectiveness of The Regime Network, Journal of Peace Research, 43(2): 149-166.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343306061545   Google Scholar

WINSLOW M., 2005, Is Democracy Good for The Environment?, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 48(5): 771-783.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09640560500183074   Google Scholar

YASIN I., AHMAD N., CHAUDHARY M. A., 2020, Catechizing The Environmental-Impression of Urbanization, Financial Development, and Political Institutions: A Circumstance of Ecological Footprints in 110 Developed and Less-Developed Countries, Social Indicators Research, 147(2): 621-649.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-019-02163-3   Google Scholar

YASIN I., NASEEM S., ANWAR M. A., MADNI G. R., MAHMOOD H., MURSHED M., 2022, An Analysis of The Environmental Impacts of Ethnic Diversity, Financial Development, Economic Growth, Urbanization, and Energy Con-sumption: Fresh Evidence From Less-Developed Countries, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29:79306-79319.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21295-7   Google Scholar

YOU W.H., ZHU H.M., YUK PENG C., 2015, Democracy, Financial Openness, and Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Heterogeneity Across Existing Emission Levels, World Development, 66: 189-207.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.08.013   Google Scholar

ZHANG S., LIU X., BAE J., 2017, Does Trade Openness Affect CO2 Emissions: Evidence From Ten Newly İndustrial-ized Countries?, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 24(21): 17616-17625.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9392-8   Google Scholar

Download


Published
2024-01-08

Cited by

Ursavaş, N., & Apaydın, Şükrü. (2024). Environmental Sustainability in Developing Countries: Does Democracy Matter? . Problemy Ekorozwoju, 19(1), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.35784/preko.5749

Authors

Neslihan Ursavaş 
karakoc.neslihan@gmail.com
University of Liverpool, Geographic Data Science Lab, Liverpool United Kingdom
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4640-8135

Authors

Şükrü Apaydın 

Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Nevşehir, Turkey Turkey
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4640-8135

Statistics

Abstract views: 264
PDF downloads: 470


License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.