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Institutions' quality and environmental pollution in Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2024

Dieudonné Mignamissi Open the ORCID record for Dieudonné Mignamissi [Opens in a new window] ,
Hervé William Mougnol A. Ekoula  and
Thierno Thioune
Dieudonné Mignamissi*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Economics, University of Yaoundé II-Soa, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Hervé William Mougnol A. Ekoula
Affiliation:
Faculty of Economics, University of Yaoundé II-Soa, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Thierno Thioune
Affiliation:
Faculty of Economics, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal
*
*Corresponding author: Dieudonné Mignamissi; Email: mignamissid@yahoo.fr
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Abstract

This paper tests the pollution emissions and institutional quality nexus in Africa. Specifically, we analyze the effect of the political regime and the quality of political governance on CO2 emissions. To control for endogeneity, we apply the system generalized method of moments on a dynamic panel of African countries over the period 1996–2020. The key finding suggests that better institutions have a negative and significant effect on pollution in Africa. The findings also validate the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Moreover, the results support the pollution haven hypothesis. Finally, if digitalization significantly curbs pollution, then industrialization, natural resources, as well as the intensive use of energy, are considered as positive predictors. All the sensitivity and robustness tests globally validate the strength of the negative association between the good quality of institutions and the level of polluting emissions in Africa. The results call for some policy recommendations in environmental regulation for African economies.

Keywords

CO2 emissionsenvironmental Kuznets curveinstitutions' qualitypollution havenwaves of democracy

JEL classification

Q00: General Q01: Sustainable Development Q56: Environment and Development • Environment and Trade • Sustainability • Environmental Accounts and Accounting • Environmental Equity • Population Growth E02: Institutions and the Macroeconomy Q50: General
Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , First View , pp. 1 - 28
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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