The Impact on Environmental Kuznets Curve by Trade and Foreign Direct Investment in China

Based on data of trade, foreign directinvestment (FDI), economic development andenvironmental conditions in China’s 30 provincesbetween 1990-2002, this paper deals with the impacton Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) of tradeand FDI in China. The results show no direct impacton EKC of trade, on the one hand. However, tradecontributes significantly to economic growth, andhas played a positive role in introducing advancedpollution prevention technology and environmentalmanagement methodology to China. Therefore, aproactive trade policy will help solve the environmentalpollution problem brought by economic growth. Onthe other hand, there is a positive correlation betweenFDI and pollutant emission, which proves that FDIdoes have some negative influence on environmentin China due to hasty introduction of foreign capitaland inadequate environmental management systemin China.

An Empirical Study on the Environmental Kuznets Curve for China's Carbon Emissions:Based on Provincial Panel Data

Based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve theory, the authors choose provincial panel data of China in 1990-2007 and adopt panel trait root and co-integration testing method to study whether there is Environmental Kuznets Curve for China＇s carbon emissions. The research results show that： carbon emissions per capita of the eastern region and the central region of China fit into Environmental Kuznets Curve, but that of the western region does not. On this basis, the authors carry out scenario analysis on the occurrence time of the inflection point of carbon emissions per capita of different regions, and describe a specific time path.

Analysis on the Characteristics of Environmental Kuznets Curve and Assessment of Air Quality in Qingdao City

[Objective] The aim was to analyze the characteristics of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and assess air quality in Qingdao City. [Method] The EKC characteristics of Qingdao from 1996 to 2008 were studied based on air pollutant discharge indices, air pollution indices and economic data from the environmental quality reports and statistics yearbooks of Qingdao, and the air quality of Qingdao City was assessed. [Result] With the increase of GDP per capita, the total discharge of industrial waste gases improved remarkably, and its EKC showed inverted U type. Meanwhile, the discharge of SO2, industrial fumes and industrial dusts decreased on the whole, and the EKC of sulfur dioxide and industrial fumes was close to inverted N type. In addition, air pollution composite index also showed decrease trend, and its EKC showed inverted N type. In recent 13 years, the concentration of SO2, particles and NO2 in ambient air of Qingdao City showed decrease trend on the whole, especially particles. In addition, PM10 has replaced SO2 as the primary pollutant since 2001, and air pollution type has changed from coal smoke pollution to mixed mode pollution of coal smoke and motor vehicle. The mitigation of air pollution in Qingdao City could be attributed to the implementation of industrial waste gas management by the governments of Qingdao City. [Conclusion] The study could provide theoretical foundations for the establishment of environmental policies in Qingdao City.

Green technical innovation, environmental expenditure, and the environmental Kuznets curve:a dynamics model

The relationship between the emission of pollutant and economic growth has attracted a lot of attention in the environmental debate of the recent decades. Based on some theoretical and empirical research on environmental Kuznets curve （EKC）, this paper introduces the environmental technical innovation and environmental investment into Salow growth model to discuss the relationship between GDP per capital and the emission of pollutant By the dynamic simulation and parameters analysis, the results of the model indicate： （1） when ＂green＂ technical progress and environmental investment are fixed, the relationship between GDP per capital and the emission shows the linear relationship; （2） ＂green＂ technical progress can lead to the positive growth rates with a decreasing level of emission, which is compatible with an EKC; （3） the proportion of the environmental investment can lead the different growth rates and level of emission. These results can explain that developing countries are ＂too poor to be green＂.

Probe into Environmental Kuznets Characteristics and Causes of Wastewater, Waste Gas, and Solid Wastes in Wuhan City

Environmental Kuznets characteristics and causes of waste water, waste gas, and solid wastes in Wuhan city was researched; By comparing the variation of “three wastes”, i.e. waste water, waste gas, and solid wastes, the model between standardized per capita GDP and values of “three wastes” discharge was established and the causes were analyzed based on the theory of environmental economics. The results show that 1) the total amount is fluctuantly increasing, but the discharges of the three kinds are temporarily different, 2) the curve conforms to the three-power function, in which the curve descends from 1985 to 1994, and the curve preliminary shows the environmental Kuznets characteristics from 1995 to 2001, 3) the simulated calculation illustrates that the turning point of this environmental Kuznets curve would be over 25007.25 Yuan per caprta, and 4) the economic development, changing of industry structure, energy resource structure, and environmental policies are the main factors leading to the Environmental Kuznets Curve in Wuhan city.

Growth and Inequality in Indonesia： Does Kuznets Curve Hold？

Sustainable economic growth has put Indonesia as a middle-income country （MIC） and currently, the level of per capita income has already exceeded US$3,000. The increase in income per capita is followed by the increasing number of middle-class population and the reduction in poverty. However, it has not been accompanied by declining inequality that reflects the quality of economic growth. According to Kuznets theory, an increase in inequality is a common problem in the process of economic growth. Inequality will further decline after the country has reached a certain threshold level of income. This study aims to analyze the trend and nature of income inequality in Indonesia and to test whether the Kuznets Curve holds. This paper used dynamic panel method with 26 provincial panel data from 2000 to 2011. The empirical result proves the existence of inverted U-shaped Kuznets Curve in Indonesia and it may have the turning points when the real GDP per capita in each province reached Rp. 179.41 million/year or around US$17.000. For the determinant of inequality in Indonesia, this study found that the percentage of urban population, inflation, and share of agricultural sector contributed to the increase of inequality, while high-level education and share of industrial sector are associated with the lower level of inequality.

Opportunity and shift of nitrogen use in China

It is never an easy task for China to feed 1.4 billion people with only 7%of the world's arable land.With nearly 30%of the world's nitrogen(N)fertilizer applied,China achieves high crop yields while facing N pollution result-ing from excessive N input.Here,we calculate the farmland N budget on the national and regional scales.The N use efficiency(NUE)in China increased by 28.0%during 2005-2018.This improvement is due to the reduction in fertilization and the improvement of crop management.The fragmented farmland is changing to large-scale farmland with the increase in cultivated land area per rural population and the development of agricultural mech-anization.This opportunity brings more possibilities for precision farmland management,thus further improving NUE.The goal of an NUE of 0.6 may be achieved in the 2040s based on the current development trend.This striking N use shift in China has important implications for other developing countries.

Is economic fitness helpful in achieving environmental sustainability in BRICS economies?A risk exposure perspective

A country’s ability to create complex goods and diversify its lines of products is essential for addressing all types of vulnerabilities.Quantifying a country’s vulnerability to extreme climatic events,such as droughts,superstorms,and other natural disasters,and its capacity for successful adaption,is an essential global need that has been ignored.This study examines the role of economic fitness(EF)in addressing climate change risk ex‐posure in BRICS countries in the context of the environmental Kuznets curve using panel data from 1995 to 2015.Panel threshold methodology is employed to ascertain the nonlinear relationship between EF and climate change risk exposure(i.e.,Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Country Index(ND-GAIN)).In addition,empirical associations were estimated using panel-corrected standard errors,Driscoll-Kraay standard errors,and feasible generalized least squares estimation techniques.These findings demonstrated an inverted N shaped link between EF and ND-GAIN.Moreover,even after controlling for significant ND-GAIN influencing variables such as gross domestic product per capita,financial development,and urbanization,our robustness checks revealed significant and consistent findings.

Analysis of the Factors Influencing Urban Size on Air Concentrations of Particulate Matter PM_(2.5)and PM_(10)in China

In the construction of resilient cities,regional air pollution prevention plays a pivotal role.Building on the previous research experience,the relationship between air pollution concentration and urban size exhibits a sublinear allometric growth pattern.To identify effective strategies for mitigating particulate matter air pollution,this study quantitatively explored 6 variables influencing urbanization in China’s cities and established an allometry model.Empirical analysis was conducted using data from 293 prefecturelevel cities and 1,827 county-level cities to examine the relationship between annual concentrations of fine particulate matter PM_(2.5) and PM_(10) in the atmosphere.①The findings of this study provided partial validation for the Kuznets curve and demonstrated a reverse‘U’-shaped association between urbanization and levels of PM_(2.5) and PM_(10) pollution.②By partitioning the Hu Huanyong line,this study identified the spatial distribution pattern of PM_(2.5) and PM_(10).In central and western regions,as urban size expands,inhalable particle concentrations tended to increase further;whereas in the southeast region,inhalable particle concentrations gradually decreased and stabilized after a certain threshold of urban scale expansion was reached.Among the factors influencing urban size,green coverage within built-up areas exerted the most significant impact on both PM_(2.5) and PM_(10) concentrations,followed by the extent of built-up areas and the scale of secondary industries.This study presented an effective strategy for reconciling conflicts between urban expansion and air pollution management,while concurrently promoting resilient cities characterized by high levels of modernization and superior quality.

Relationship Between Economic Growth and Water Environmental Quality of Anshan City in Northeast China

Based on the decomposition model of environmental quality and univariate regression model,the relationships of industrial wastewater drainage with economic scale,economic structure,and technological level in Anshan,a mining city in Northeast China,were studied. The results showed that,due to scale effect,the drainage of three important industrial wastewater pollutants(COD,NH3-N and petroleum) increased 8505t,671t and 384t,respectively,and due to structure effect,those pollutants drainage increased 3996t,174t and 120t from 2001 to 2006. While due to technological effect,the drainage of COD,NH3-N and petroleum reduced 4452t,458t and 331t,and due to cross effect,those pollutants drainage reduced 7270t,575t and 476t simultaneously. Meantime,the relationships between household consumption structure and domestic sewage discharge were analyzed,and domestic sewage discharges in different income levels were also compared. The results showed that,the domestic sewage discharges would increase 376t with 1000 yuan(RMB) increased in the traffic and communication consumption,and they would be 344t,219t,428t,1873t,respectively,in housing consumption,food consumption,medical consumption,miscellaneous commodity consumption. The proportion of domestic sewage discharge increased for high income residents significantly,but reduced for lower income residents. The industrial wastewater pollutants drainage tends to be reduced by technical progress,while domestic sewage discharge will be a more important factor for urban water environment quality.

The Environmental Impacts of Informal Economies in China: Inverted U-shaped Relationship and Regional Variances

This paper aims to the debate on the nexus between informal economies and the environment by investigating the long-term dynamic impacts of China’s informal economies on pollution and considering regional differences in informal economies’ pollution.This paper uses the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes(MIMIC) model to estimate the size of informal economies and employs econometric models to examine their relationships to pollution based on provincial-level panel data from 2000 to 2017. The results indicate that informal economies’ effects on environmental pollution are not purely positive or negative. Rather, our model indicates that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between informal economies and pollution in the long run in China;this means that the level of environmental pollution increases at first and then decreases with the growth of informal economies. Further analysis shows that while this inverted, U-shaped relationship is significant in different regions of China, it is affected by different environmental impact factors. The paper concludes by discussing the policy implications for environmental protection and sustainable development.

Has China-ASEAN Trade opening increased China’ s carbon emissions?

This study uses carbon emission data at the provincial level in China between 1998-2018 and the proportion of the total import and export trade between provinces and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN)in GDP to measure the level of China-ASEAN trade openness.It examines the impact of China ASEAN trade openness on carbon emissions and its transmission mechanism,and selects the RMB/USD exchange rate as an instrumental variable to address the endogeneity of China-ASEAN trade openness variables.The impact of China-ASEAN trade openness on China’s environment is estimated within a two-stage least squares framework.The results show that trade openness between China and ASEAN positively impacts China’s environment and can facilitate carbon emission reduction.The scale,structural,and technology effects brought by China-ASEAN trade liberalization jointly promote China’s carbon dioxide emission reduction.An inverted“U”relationship is found between economic growth and environmental quality in China,and some provinces and municipalities have now crossed the inflection point of the curve,in which carbon emi ssions decrease with an increase in per capita wealth.

The effects of PM_(2.5)concentration on residents'health from the perspective of spatial economics

Ambient air quality is an important part of the ecological environment.Based on panel data from 192 countries for the period 2010–2016,our study applies spatial geography elements in a spatial panel model to analyze whether PM_(2.5)harms residents'health.We find a positive correlation between PM_(2.5)concentration and the prevalence of tuberculosis.Empirical testing shows that if residents live in environments with high PM_(2.5)concentrations for an extended period,it increases their probability of contracting tuberculosis.PM_(2.5)concentration and economic growth have an environmental Kuznets curve(EKC)relationship.Furthermore,PM_(2.5)concentration and prevalence of tuberculosis in different countries have a positive spatial correlation during the study period.The values of PM_(2.5)concentration in adjacent areas are similar,because PM_(2.5)can cross borders through airflow and as economic development levels in adjacent regions are similar.When regulating haze pollution,we should adopt regional joint governance,consider the specific characteristics of different regions,and coordinate these regulations with environmental protection policies to realize the goal of“lucid waters and lush mountains.”

Role of knowledge economy in managing demand-based environmental Kuznets Curve

Aggregate demand or supply at equilibrium is commonly used as a representative of the macroeconomic activity of an economy whereby aggregate demand denotes the behaviour of individuals and households.However,aggregate demand can also directly affect environmental deterioration via changes in aggregate production.This study tried to explore this relationship,known as the demand-based Environmental Kuznets Curve(Demand EKC)and the role of different knowledge economy indicators.Knowledge economy indicators are proposed to influence consumption patterns,altering the demand EKC that empirical studies have understudied.For this purpose,secondary data for 147 countries were collected from 2008 to 2018,also classified as development-wise.This study found that aggregate demand significantly affects carbon emissions.The long-run results are estimated using the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square method.Controlling factors like renewable energy consumption,population density,and financial development significantly affect carbon emissions in sample countries.This study has incorporated four pillars of a knowledge-based economy and the results showed that these indicators helped reduce consumption-related CO_(2) emissions.

Economic Globalization and Industrial Pollution

In order to study the relationship between economic globalization and industrial pollution, this paper developed the theoretical framework and used simultaneous equations. The result shows that economic globalization has influences on the industrial pollution mainly by the direct effect of scale, structure and technology as well as the indirect effect of income and policy. Considering all the factors, economic globalization, especially foreign direct investment (FDI), will reduce industrial pollution, in which technology spillover effect plays an important role.

Cross-country income disparity and its effect on carbon emissions

This study is motivated by the interesting relationship between the income Kuznets curve and the carbon Kuznets curve.This paper focuses on the interaction effects of income distribution and income per capita on CO_2 emissions using country group panel data over the period of 1980 to 2006 by employing fixed effects(FE),random effects(RE)and feasible generalized least squares(FGLS)estimation methods.The main findings are as follows.(1)There exists an inverted-U relationship between CO_2 emissions per capita and income per capita in all sample countries and high-income groups.(2)The cross-country income disparity has a negative effect on the average level of CO_2 emissions but a positive effect on the aggregate income elasticity of CO_2 emissions.(3)This negative effect of income disparity on the average level of CO_2emissions decreases along with the growth of per capita income.Thus,economic growth contributes to the reduction of this negative impact.

Nexus between selected macroeconomic variables and carbon emission in Kenya

Agriculture is not only influenced by climate change,but it is also one of the significant contributors of CO_(2) emission.Understanding CO_(2) emission and macroeconomic variables is critical to solving the challenges and threats faced by Kenya’s agriculture and environment.This study used the Environmental Kuznets Curve(EKC)hypothesis and the autoregressive distribution lag model(ADLM)to analyze the relationships of CO_(2) emission with agricultural output,government direct investment,trade openness,and inflation rate in Kenya from 1983 to 2019.The study found that there exists a positive(direct)relationship between CO_(2) emission and foreign direct investment in the long run in Kenya.Additionally,CO_(2) emission and trade openness have a negative(indirect)and statistically significant relationship after the error correction term adjustment in the long run.Moreover,the relationship between CO_(2) emission and agricultural output is positive(direct)and statistically significant in the long run.There is a positive(direct)and statistically insignificant relationship between CO_(2) emission and inflation rate in the short run.Notably,the EKC hypothesis indicated that the Kenya’s economy is still on the environmental degradation trade-off through the gradual increase of both CO_(2) emission and agricultural output.Our results are important to Kenya’s economy because the derived insights will assist in relevant departments to formulate sustainable strategies to minimize environmental degradation.

Study on the Decoupling Indicators between Economic Development and Environmental Pollution

Decoupling theory and application are introduced firstly, and then the status and prospect of decoupling relation between environmental pollution and economic growth are analyzed. Finally, choice criteria and connotation of decoupling indicators are studied.

Regional Distribution and Pollution of Energy-lntensive Industries in China

This paper investigates the regional distribution and pollution of energyintensive industries in China. Through the analysis of provincial panel data collected during 1998-2008, this work estimates the drivers of pollution in 30 of China＇s provincial-level divisions. The paper concludes that while China＇s energy-intensive industries are heavily distributed in eastern and central China, the speed of development toward central and western China has, in recent years, risen continuously. Industries located in eastern China do, however, remain the primary polluters in the country. Notably, regional agglomeration of energy-intensive industries plays a positive role in energy conservation and pollution control in China. This paper also finds that patterns of pollution in China follow the environmental Kuznets curve （EKC） with strong inter-provincial discrepancies.

Research Progress on the Relationship between Air Pollution and Socio-economic Growth in China

Air pollution is a hot issue studied by scholars all over the world.Academic circles generally believe that socio-economic factors such as extensive economic growth,unbalanced proportion of industrial structure and unreasonable energy consumption structure are the main"culprits"of serious air pollution in China.Therefore,the relationship between air pollution and socio-economic growth has very important theoretical and practical significance for air pollution prevention and control and promoting the sustainable and healthy development of cities.Through literature research and summary methods,this paper studies the severity and harmfulness of air pollution in China,and deeply studies the research progress of socio-economic influencing factors of air pollution,environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis of air pollution,decoupling relationship between air pollution and socio-economic growth,so as to provide useful reference for the prevention and control of air pollution.