Published In
Socius
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2018
Subjects
Atmospheric carbon dioxide -- Effect on economic growth, Atmospheric carbon dioxide -- Economic aspects -- Developed countries, Industrial policy -- Environmental aspects, Environmental policy, Environmental sociology
Abstract
In the past two decades, income inequality has steadily increased in most developed nations. During this same period, the growth rate of CO2 emissions has declined in many developed nations, cumulating to a recent period of decoupling between economic growth and CO2 emissions. The aim of the present study is to advance research on socioeconomic drivers of CO2 emissions by assessing how the distribution of income affects the relationship between economic growth and CO2 emissions. The authors find that from 1985 to 2011, rising income inequality leads to a tighter coupling between economic growth and CO2 emissions in developed nations. Additionally, the authors find that increases in the top 20 percent of income earners’ share of national income have resulted in a larger association between economic growth and CO2 emissions, while increases in the bottom 20 percent of income earners’ share of national income reduced the association between economic growth and CO2 emissions.
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/34603
Citation Details
McGee, Julius Alexander, and Patrick Trent Greiner. 2018. “Can Reducing Income Inequality Decouple Economic Growth and CO2 Emissions?” Socius 4: 2378023118772716. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2378023118772716