Analyzing the Economic Factors Affecting Carbon Dioxide Emissions Using a Meta-Analysis Approach

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

2 MA in Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

In recent decades, the increasing degradation of the environment has prompted policymakers to adopt measures aimed at reducing environmental damage. Accordingly, the present study aims to evaluate the economic factors affecting carbon dioxide emissions—one of the most important indicators of environmental quality—in developing countries through a comprehensive review of studies published between 2000 and 2023 using a meta-analysis approach. The initial selection criteria for studies included the presence of relevant keywords in the title or abstract and the completeness of the study. After excluding irrelevant studies, 46 articles remained for the final review. The findings indicate that the most influential factors affecting CO2 emissions in the examined studies are gross domestic product (GDP), energy consumption, international trade, urbanization rate, population growth, financial development, and industrialization. Among these, GDP and energy consumption were the most frequently studied variables. Furthermore, all mean effect sizes were greater than 0.2 and less than 0.5, indicating that these factors have a moderate effect. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis and the Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH) are both supported, with most studies finding that energy consumption, urbanization, and population growth have a positive effect on CO2 emissions. In contrast, financial development has an adverse impact. Based on these results, policies such as optimal energy pricing, reforming international trade regulations, improving the quality of life in rural areas, promoting financial development, and implementing environmental taxes on polluting industries could help reduce CO2 emissions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Adams, S., & Klobodu, E. K. M. (2018). Financial development and environmental degradation: does political regime matter?. Journal of cleaner production, 197, 1472-1479.‏
  2. Aller, C., Ductor, L., & Grechyna, D. (2021). Robust determinants of CO2 emissions. Energy Economics, 96, 105154.‏
  3. Al-Mulali, U., & Ozturk, I. (2015). The effect of energy consumption, urbanization, trade openness, industrial output, and the political stability on the environmental degradation in the MENA (Middle East and North African) region. Energy, 84, 382-389.‏
  4. Apergis, N., & Payne, J. E. (2009). Energy consumption and economic growth in Central America: evidence from a panel cointegration and error correction model. Energy economics, 31(2), 211-216.‏
  5. Asar, S., Jalalpour, S. Ayoubi, F., Rahmani, M., & Rezaeian, M. (2016). PRISMA, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, 15(1), 68-80 (In Persian).
  6. Baek, J. (2016). A new look at the FDI–income–energy–environment nexus: dynamic panel data analysis of ASEAN. Energy Policy, 91, 22-27.‏
  7. Balogh, J. M., & Jámbor, A. (2017). Determinants of CO2 emission: A global evidence. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 7(5), 217-226.‏
  8. Bramwell, B., & Lane, B. (1993). Sustainable tourism: An evolving global approach. Journal of sustainable tourism, 1(1), 1-5.‏
  9. Burki, U., & Tahir, M. (2022). Determinants of environmental degradation: Evidenced-based insights from ASEAN economies. Journal of Environmental Management, 306, 114506.‏
  10. Burton, E. (2000). The compact city: Just or just compact? A preliminary analysis. Urban studies, 37(11), 1969-2006.‏
  11. Charfeddine, L., & Mrabet, Z. (2017). The impact of economic development and social-political factors on ecological footprint: A panel data analysis for 15 MENA countries. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 76, 138-154.‏
  12. Cohen, J. (2013). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. routledge.‏
  13. Darvishi B., Moridian, A., Motalebi, M., & Havasbeigi, F. (2021). Globalization, Energy Consumption and Environmental Degradation in Iran: Empirical Evidence from the Maki Cointegration Test. The Economic Research (Sustainable Growth and Development), 21(2), 59-82 (In Persian).
  14. Dasgupta, S., Laplante, B., & Mamingi, N. (2001). Pollution and capital markets in developing countries. Journal of Environmental Economics and management, 42(3), 310-335.‏
  15. Debray, T. P., Moons, K. G., & Riley, R. D. (2018). Detecting small‐study effects and funnel plot asymmetry in meta‐analysis of survival data: a comparison of new and existing tests. Research synthesis methods, 9(1), 41-50.‏
  16. Dinda, S. (2004). Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis: a survey. Ecological economics, 49(4), 431-455.‏
  17. Ebrahimzadeh Asmin, H., Abbasian, M., & Barahoie, A. (2020). Relationship Between Urban Growth, Selected Economic Indicators and CO2 Emission in Iran. Environment and Water Engineering,  6(4), 402-414 (In Persian).
  18. Ekinci, M. B. (2014). The Cittaslow philosophy in the context of sustainable tourism development; the case of Turkey. Tourism Management, 41, 178-189.‏
  19. Ehrlich, P. R., & Holdren, J. P. (1971). Impact of population growth. Science, 171(3977), 1212-1217.‏
  20. Fakher, H. A. (2019). Investigating the determinant factors of environmental quality (based on ecological carbon footprint index). Environmental science and pollution research, 26(10), 10276-10291.‏
  21. Fakher, H., Abedi, Z., Ahmadian, M., & Shaygani, B. (2018). Comparative Examine the Impact of Financial Development (Based on Money Market and Capital Market) in the Intensity of Economic Growth Effects on the Environmental Performance. Environmental Researches,  9(17), 133-146 (In Persian).
  22. Artaxo, P., Berntsen, T., Betts, R., Fahey, D. W., Haywood, J., Lean, J., ... & Prinn, R. (2007). Changes in atmos-pheric constituents and in radiative forcing.‏
  23. Fetros, M., Sahraei, R., & Yavari, M. (2014). Estimation of Energy Demand Function in Iran Road Transportation Sector,1978-2013. Quarterly Journal of the Macro and Strategic Policies, 2(7), 23-42 (In Persian).
  24. Fetros, M., Maboodi, R., & Dare Nazari, Z. (2022). Decomposition of the Share of Factors Affecting Environmental Pollution in Iran Using the Shapley-Owen Value Approach. Quarterly Energy Economics Review, 18(73), 97-128 (In Persian).
  25. Ghazi Tabatabyi, M., & Dadhir, A. (2010). Meta-Analysis in Social and Behavioral Researches. Social and Cultural Studies Office of Tehran Municipality, Tehran, Iran (In Persian).
  26. Grossman, G. M., & Krueger, A. B. (1991). Environmental impacts of a North American free trade agreement.‏
  27. He, J., & Richard, P. (2010). Environmental Kuznets curve for CO2 in Canada. Ecological economics, 69(5), 1083-1093.‏
  28. Holden, A. (2016). Environment and tourism. Routledge.‏
  29. Hunt, M. (1997). How science takes stock: The story of meta-analysis. Russell Sage Foundation.‏
  30. Kargar Dehbidi, N., & Esmaeili, A. (2016). The Effects of Economic Growth, Energy Consumption, Trade Openness and Urbanization on Environmental Pollution in the MENA Region During the Period 1995- 2012. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research, 47(4), 815-824 (In Persian).
  31. Khalid, K., Usman, M., & Mehdi, M. A. (2021). The determinants of environmental quality in the SAARC region: a spatial heterogeneous panel data approach. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(6), 6422-6436.‏
  32. Lee, J. W., & Brahmasrene, T. (2013). Investigating the influence of tourism on economic growth and carbon emissions: Evidence from panel analysis of the European Union. Tourism management, 38, 69-76.‏
  33. Li, S. (2010). The effectiveness of corrective feedback in SLA: A meta‐analysis. Language learning, 60(2), 309-365.‏
  34. Malthus, T. R. (1967). Essay on Principle of Population 1798. Readex Microprint.‏
  35. Jacobi, P., Kjellen, M., McGranahan, G., Songsore, J., & Surjadi, C. (2010). The citizens at risk: from urban sanitation to sustainable cities. Routledge.‏
  36. MohammadiNia, M., Abbasi, G., Baseri, B., & Rahimi, R. (2023). Effects of Globalization, Economic Growth, Financial Development on Ecological Footprint in Iran (Quantile Regression Analysis). Journal of Sustainability, Development, and Environment, 4(3), 1-19 (In Persian).
  37. Mol, A. P., & Spaargaren, G. (2000). Ecological modernisation theory in debate: A review. Environmental politics, 9(1), 17-49.‏
  38. Mousavi, S. K., Salmanpour, A., & Shokouhifard, S. (2017). The Impact of Economic Growth, Energy Consumption and Financial Development on the Environment Pollution in Iran During 1986-2016. Journal of Environmental Science Studies, 2(1), 111-120 (In Persian).
  39. Omri, A. (2018). Entrepreneurship, sectoral outputs and environmental improvement: International evidence. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 128, 46-55.‏
  40. Ozturk, I., & Acaravci, A. (2013). The long-run and causal analysis of energy, growth, openness and financial development on carbon emissions in Turkey. Energy economics, 36, 262-267.‏
  41. Panayotou, T. (1993). Empirical tests and policy analysis of environmental degradation at different stages of economic development.‏
  42. Paramati, S. R., Alam, M. S., & Apergis, N. (2018). The role of stock markets on environmental degradation: A comparative study of developed and emerging market economies across the globe. Emerging Markets Review, 35, 19-30.‏
  43. Ramezani, M., Abolhassani, L., Shahnoushi Foroushani, N., Burgess, D., & Aminizadeh, M. (2022). Ecological footprint and its determinants in MENA countries: a spatial econometric approach. Sustainability, 14(18), 11708.‏
  44. Sadorsky, P. (2010). The impact of financial development on energy consumption in emerging economies. Energy policy, 38(5), 2528-2535.‏
  45. Saqib, M., & Benhmad, F. (2021). Updated meta-analysis of environmental Kuznets curve: Where do we stand?. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 86, 106503.‏
  46. Shao, Y. (2018). Does FDI affect carbon intensity? New evidence from dynamic panel analysis. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 10(1), 27-42.‏
  47. Shirmohammadi, A., Vafae, F., Namamian, F., & Taban, M. (2020). Developing a Business Sustainability Model in the Supply Chain Using the Meta-Synthesis Approach. Journal of Business Management, 12(3), 627-651 (In Persian).
  48. Smith, V. K., & Kaoru, Y. (1990). Signals or noise? Explaining the variation in recreation benefit estimates. american Journal of agricultural Economics, 72(2), 419-433.‏
  49. Tao, S., Zheng, T., & Lianjun, T. O. N. G. (2008). An empirical test of the environmental Kuznets curve in China: a panel cointegration approach. China Economic Review, 19(3), 381-392.‏
  50. Sterne, J. A., Gavaghan, D., & Egger, M. (2000). Publication and related bias in meta-analysis: power of statistical tests and prevalence in the literature. Journal of clinical epidemiology, 53(11), 1119-1129.‏
  51. Taleb, M., Piri, S., & Mohammadi, S. (2011). Meta-Analysis of Studies About Poverty in Rural Societies of Iran. Community Development (Rural and Urban), 2 (2), 23-40 (In Persian).
  52. Trainer, F. E. (1990). Environmental Significance of Development Theory. Ecological Economics, Vol. 2(4), pp. 277-286.
  53. Wang, J., & Dong, K. (2019). What drives environmental degradation? Evidence from 14 Sub-Saharan African countries. Science of the Total Environment, 656, 165-173.‏
  54. Yusuf, A. (2023). Dynamic effects of energy consumption, economic growth, international trade and urbanization on environmental degradation in Nigeria. Energy Strategy Reviews, 50, 101228.‏
  55. Zanganeh, H., Sayehmiri, A., Sayehmiri, K., and Shayian, A. (2019). The Effect of Economic Growth on Environmental Quality: Using Meta-Analysis Method. Journal of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, 3(6), 55-78 (In Persian).
  56. Zhong, L., Deng, J., Song, Z., & Ding, P. (2011). Research on environmental impacts of tourism in China: Progress and prospect. Journal of environmental management, 92(11), 2972-2983.‏
  57. Zmami, M., & Ben-Salha, O. (2020). An empirical analysis of the determinants of CO2 emissions in‎ GCC countries. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 27(5), 469-480.‏

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics