Urbanization and Environmental Quality in Africa

Effiong, Ekpeno (2016): Urbanization and Environmental Quality in Africa.

Abstract

Africa’s rapid urbanization pose challenges for her sustainable development. This paper investigates the environmental impact of urbanization for 49 African countries from 1990 to 2010. Using the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) framework, a recently developed semi-parametric panel fixed-effects regression technique, and two atmospheric air pollutants, namely carbon dioxide (CO2) and ambient particulate matter PM10 emissions, the evidence indicates that urbanization reduces environmental pollution. The semi-parametric analysis reveals that the result is more pronounced with PM10 but weaker for CO2 emissions. Moreover, there is no evidence to confirm the Kuznets hypothesis of an inverted U-shaped curve between urbanization and environmental pollution. To reap the benefits of urbanization, there is need for a strategic urban planning with basic infrastructure investment that promotes a green environment.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Urbanization; Environmental Quality; STIRPAT; Semi-parametric method; Africa.
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C1 - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General > C14 - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C3 - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models ; Multiple Variables > C33 - Panel Data Models ; Spatio-temporal Models; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O5 - Economywide Country Studies > O55 - Africa; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation > Q20 - General; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R11 - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

References

Adusah-Poku, F. (2016). Carbon dioxide emissions, urbanization and population: empirical evidence from Sub-Sahran Africa. Energy Economics Letters, 3(1):1–16.

Baltagi, B. H. and Li, D. (2002). Series estimation of partially linear panel data models with fixed effects. Annals of Economics and Finance, 3:103–116.

Burgess, R. (2000). The compact city debate: a global perspective. In: Jenks, M., Burgess, R. (Eds.), Compact Cities: Sustainable Urban Forms for Developing Countries. Spon Press, New York, pp. 9–24.

Cobbinah, P. B., Erdiaw-Kwasie, M. O., and Amaoteng, P. (2015). Africa’s urbanization: implications for sustainable development. Cities, 47:62–72.

Cole, M. and Neumayer, E. (2004). Examining the impact of demographic factors on air pollution. Population Development Review, 2:5–21.

Dietz, T. and Rosa, E. A. (1997). Effects of population and affluence on CO2 emissions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 94:175–179.

Ehrhardt-Martinez, K., Crenshaw, E. M., and Jenkins, J. C. (2002). Deforestation and the environmental Kuznets curve: a cross-national investigation of intervening mechanism. Social Science Quarterly, 83(1):226–243.

Ehrlich, P. and Holdren, J. (1971). Impact of population growth. Science, 171:1212–1217.

Fan, Y., Lui, L. C., Wu, G., and Wie, Y.-M. (2006). Analyzing impact factors of co2 emissions using the STIRPAT model. Emvironmental Impact Assessment Review, 26:377– 395.

Freire, M. E., Lall, S., and Leipziger, D. (2014). Africa’s urbanization: challenges and opportunities. Working Paper No. 7, The Growth Dialogue.

Liddle, B. and Lung (2010). Age-structure, urbanization nd climate change in developing countries: revisiting STIRPAT for disaggregated population and consumption related environmental impacts. Population Environment, 31:317–343.

Magee, L. (1998). Nonlocal behaviour in polynomial regressions. American Statistician, 52(1):20–22.

Martınez-Zarzoso, I. and Maroutti, A. (2011). The impact of urbanization on co2 emissions: Evidence from developing countries. Ecological Economics, 70:1344–1353.

Onoja, A. O., Ajie, E. N., and Achike, A. I. (2014). Econometric analysis of influences of trade openness, economic growth and urbanization on greenhouse gas emissions in Africa (1960-2010). Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 5(10):85–93.

Parikh, J. and Shukla, V. (1995). Urbanization, energy use and greenhouse effects in economic development – results from a cross-national study of developing countries. Global Environmental Change, 5:87–103.

Poumanyvong, P. and Kaneko, S. (2010). Does urbanization lead to less energy use and lower co2 emissions? a cross-country analysis. Ecological Economics, 70:434–444.

Sadorsky, P. (2014). The effect of urbanization on co2 emissions in emerging economies. Energy Economics, 41:147–153.

Sharma, S. S. (2011). Determinants of carbon dioxide emissions: Empirical evidence from 69 countries. Applied Energy, 88(1):376–382.

UN HABITAT (2010). The State of African Cities: Governance, inequality and urban land markets. Nairobi, Kenya: UN HABITAT.

United Nations (2015). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, United Nations.

Wang, Y., Han, R., and Kubota, J. (2016). Is there an Environmental Kuznets Curve for SO2 emissions? A semi-parametric panel data analysis for China. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 54:1182–1188.

Wang, Y., Zhang, X., Kubota, J., Zhu, X., and Lu, G. (2015). A semi-parametric panel data analysis on the urbanization-carbon emissions nexus for OECD countries. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 48:704–709.

Xu, B. and Lin, B. (2015). How industrialization and urbanization process impacts on CO2 emissions in china: evidence from nonparametric additive regression models. Energy Economics, 48:188–202.

Yatchew, A. (1998). Nonparametric regression techniques in economics. Journal of Economic Literature, 36:669–721.

York, R., Rosa, E. A., and Dietz, T. (2003). STIRPAT, IPAT and ImPACT: analytic tools for unpacking the driving forces of environmental impacts. Ecological Economics, 46:351–365.

Zhu, H.-M., You, W.-H., and fa Zeng, Z. (2012). Urbanization and CO2 emissions: A semi-parametric panel data analysis. Economic Letters, 117:848–850.