Income inequality, governance quality, and environmental degradation in Asian countries: Does interaction of governance quality matter? Evidence from panel data

Iragdao Raja Basumatary ,Manjit Das ,Sijousa Basumatary ,Sanswrang Mwchahary ,Ringcher Basumatary

doi:10.24294/jipd.v8i7.4317

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Income inequality, governance quality, and environmental degradation in Asian countries: Does interaction of governance quality matter? Evidence from panel data

Iragdao Raja Basumatary

Manjit Das

Sijousa Basumatary

Sanswrang Mwchahary

Ringcher Basumatary

Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development 2024, 8(7), 4317; https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i7.4317

Submitted：19 Jan 2024

Accepted：20 Feb 2024

Published：16 Jul 2024

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Abstract

The objective of this research is to examine the effects of income inequality, governance quality, and their interaction on environmental quality in Asian countries. Time series data are obtained from 45 Asian countries for the period 1996–2020 for this empirical analysis. The research has performed various econometric tests to ensure the robustness and reliability of the results. We have addressed different econometric issues, such as autocorrelation, heteroskedasticity, and cross-sectional dependence, using the Driscoll-Kraay (DK) standard error estimation and endogeneity issues by the system generalized method of moments (S-GMM). The results of the study revealed that income inequality and governance quality have a positive impact on environmental degradation, while the interaction of governance quality with income inequality has a negative effect on it. In addition, economic growth, population growth, urbanization, and natural resource dependency are found to deteriorate the quality of the environment. The findings of the study offer insightful policies to reduce environmental degradation in Asian countries.

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References

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