Is There Any Relationship between Environment, Human Development, Political and Governance Regimes? Evidences from a Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract

The current study attempts to understand the relationships among Environmental Quality (EQ), Human Development (HD) and political and governance regime in a cross-country framework. The underlying hypothesis is that in addition to income, as reflected from the literature on Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, several other factors, including social and political ones, may influence environmental decision making, and thereby environmental sustainability, in a country. The EQ of the countries in the current study is denoted by their Environmental Performance Index (2008). Human development is represented by Human Development Index (2007) and Human Poverty Index (2006). Democracy Index (2008) and Corruption Perceptions Index (2008) are considered as proxies for political transparency in a country and its susceptibility to rent-seeking activities respectively. The regression results confirm the closer association between the socio-economic and socio-political factors in a country and its environmental performance.

Keywords: environmental quality, human development, economic growth, democracy, corruption, environmental Kuznets curve

JEL Classification: D72, D73, O15, O4, P28, Q01, Q56