The Impact of Human Capital on Carbon Dioxide Emissions with an Emphasis on Education in Developing Countries

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran

2 M.Sc. in Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Humanities, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran

10.30473/ee.2024.69954.2695

Abstract

In this research, using the simultaneous equation estimation method (3SLS), we investigated the simultaneous relationship between human capital, education, and carbon dioxide emissions in developing countries during the period 1996–2020. The results showed that one of the dimensions of human capital—namely health—has a significant negative effect on carbon dioxide emissions and improves environmental quality in the countries studied. Furthermore, the increase in the education level of human capital leads to environmental degradation and higher carbon dioxide emissions in these countries. This is because education in these nations has not been solely aimed at improving environmental quality and human capital; rather, consumerism has been prioritized, and sustainable development policies have not received sufficient attention. Therefore, policymakers should enhance public environmental awareness by ensuring equitable access to educational opportunities and by emphasizing educational quality in line with global sustainable development policies. Moreover, by imposing high customs tariffs to prevent the import of polluting technologies and by aligning educational policies with the development of green technologies, they can support elites in designing and building green technologies to protect the environment. 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Atrkarroshan,S & Fathi,Z (2017). “A comparative study of the effect of education at different educational levels on the reduction of air pollution in selected countries of MENA”. Environmental Science and Technology Quarterly, 19(1), 169-180. [In Persian]. doi: 10.22034/JEST.2017.10343
Abrishami, H. and Mehrara, M. (2002). “Applied econometrics (New approach)”, Tehran: University of Tehran Press. [In Persian]
Ahmed, Z., & Wang, Z. (2019). “Investigating the. impact of human capital on the ecological footprint in India: an empirical analysis”. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26, 26782-26796. doi: 10.1007/s11356-019-05911-7
Aşıcı, A. A., & Acar, S. (2016). “Does income growth relocate ecological footprint?”. Ecological Indicators, 61, 707-714. ‏Doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.10.022
Ali, G., Ashraf, A., Bashir, M. K., & Cui, S. (2017). “Exploring environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in relation to green revolution: a case study of Pakistan”. Environmental Science & Policy, 77, 166-171. Doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2017.08.019
Baltagi, B. H., & Baltagi, B. H. (2008). “Econometric analysis of panel data” Vol. 4, 135-145. Chichester: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53953-5
Bimonte, S. (2002). “Information access, income distribution, and the Environmental Kuznets Curve”. Ecological economics, 41(1), 145-156. Doi: 10.1016/S0921-8009(02)00022-8
Celik, E. U., Omay, T., & Tengilimoglu, D. (2023). “Convergence of economic growth and health expenditures in OECD countries: Evidence from non-linear unit root tests”. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1125968. Doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1125968
De Almeida Rocha, T., Silva, L. B., Alves, E. B. B. M., & Jacovine, L. A. G. (2023). “Carbon footprint in an educational institution and compensation potential in urban forests”. Environmental Development, 46, 100860. Doi: 10.1016/j.envdev.2023.100860
Dehghan Shabani, Z., Jamshidi, N. and Zehtab, M. (2019). “The Effect of Development Threshold in the effect of Human Capital on the Economic Growth in Iran”. Quarterly Journal of Economic Strategy. 8(28): 147-173. [In Pesian]. https://sid.ir/paper/233823/en
Dias, J., & McDermott, J. (2006). “Institutions, education, and development: The role of entrepreneurs”. Journal of development economics, 80(2), 299-328. Doi: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2005.04.004
Eyuboglu, K., & Uzar, U. (2021). “A new perspective to environmental degradation: the linkages between higher education and CO2 emissions”. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(1), 482-493. Doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-09414-8
Ezzati, M. and Mozaffari, Z. (2022). “The effect of human capital on air pollution in Iran: GMM and fuzzy logic approach”. Economic Research (Growth and Sustainable Development), 22(1), 115-146. [In Persian]. Doi:20.1001.1.17356768.1401.22.1.4.9
Farzin, Y. H., & Bond, C. A. (2006). “Democracy and environmental quality”. Journal of Development Economics, 81(1), 213-235. Doi: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2005.04.003
Fitzsimons, P. (2017). “Human Capital Theory and Education”. In: Peters, M.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-588-4_331
Fotourehchi, Z. (2021). “The paradox of natural resource abundance and environmental degradation: an empirical study in countries with high non-renewable energy abundance”. Strategic Studies of Public Policy, 11(39), 230-249. [In Persian].‎ https://sid.ir/paper/1056968/en
Gujarati, D. (1995). “Fundamentals of Econometrics”, Translated by Hamid Abrishami (2013). (2nd ed). Tehran: University of Tehran. [In Persian].
Jayadevan, C. M. (2021). “Impacts of health on economic growth: evidence from structural equation modelling”. Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, 5(2), 513-522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41685-020-00182-4
Jiang, W., & Wang, Y. (2023). “Asymmetric Effects of Human Health Capital on Economic Growth in China: An Empirical Investigation Based on the NARDL Model”. Sustainability, 15(6), 5537. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065537
Jahanger, A., Yang, B., Huang, W. C., Murshed, M., Usman, M., & Radulescu, M. (2023). “Dynamic linkages between globalization, human capital, and carbon dioxide emissions: empirical evidence from developing economies”. Environment, development and sustainability, 25(9), 9307-9335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02437-w
Karimi, M & Hassanvand,A. (2021). “Investigating the effect of education on carbon dioxide emissions in Iran by examining the Kuznets environmental curve”. Journal of Natural Environment, 73(4), 775-789. [In Persian]. https://doi.org/10.22059/jne.2021.304780.2016
Khattak, S. I., Ahmad, M., Khan, Z. U., & Khan, A. (2020). “Exploring the impact of innovation, renewable energy consumption, and income on CO2 emissions: new evidence from the BRICS economies”. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(12), 13866-13881. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07876-4
Khanzadi, A., Jaliliyan, S., Moradi, S., & Heidariyan, M. (2020). “Analyzing effects of environment quality improvement on life expectancy in Iran (based on economic approach)”. Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 22(1), 336-349. [In Persian]. https://sid.ir/paper/393971/en
Khoshnevis, M., & Pajooyan, J. (2016). “The study of the role of development on the impact of environmental pollution on the human development index”. Quarterly Energy Economics Review, 12(48), 33-61. [InPersian]. http://iiesj.ir/article-1-464-en.html
Lin, X., Zhao, Y., Ahmad, M., Ahmed, Z., Rjoub, H., & Adebayo, T. S. (2021). “Linking innovative human capital, economic growth, and CO2 emissions: an empirical study based on Chinese provincial panel data”. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(16), 8503. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168503
Mariani, F., Pérez-Barahona, A., & Raffin, N. (2010). “Life expectancy and the environment”. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 34(4), 798-815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jedc.2009.11.007
Mehrara, M & Kikha, A. (2008). “Institutions, oil, and economic growth in oil-dependent countries during the period 1975-2005: A panel cointegration approach”. Quantitative Economics, 19(5), 55-80. [In Persian].‎
Misra, A. K., & Verma, M. (2015). “Impact of environmental education on mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions: a modelling study”. International Journal of Global Warming, 7(4), 466-486. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGW.2015.070046
Nelson, R. R., & Phelps, E. S. (1966). “Investment in humans, technological diffusion, and economic growth”. The American economic review, 56(1/2), 69-75. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1821269
Pablo-Romero, M. D. P., & Sánchez-Braza, A. (2015). “Productive energy use and economic growth: Energy, physical and human capital relationships”. Energy Economics, 49, 420-429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2015.03.010
Salmanpour,A.  (2018). “The effect of population growth, human capital and consumption of petroleum products on environmental pollution in Iran”. Environmental Science and Technology Quarterly, 20(4), 239-255. [In Persian].‎ https://sid.ir/paper/361367/en
Salim, R., Yao, Y., & Chen, G. S. (2017). “Does human capital matter for energy consumption in China?”. Energy Economics, 67, 49-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2017.05.016
Sedighi, HR, Lawler, KA, Katos, AV. (2007). “Econometrics, applied approach”. Translated by Shamsullah Shirin Bakhsh,Tehran: Avai Noor Publications. [In Persian].
Sharygin, E. J. (2013). “The carbon cost of an educated future: A consumer lifestyle approach”. Vienna Institute of Demography Working Papers, No. 4/2013, Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), Vienna Institute of Demography (VID), Vienna. https://hdl.handle.net/10419/97016
Uddin, M. M. (2014). “Causal relationship between education, carbon dioxide CO2 emission and economic growth in Bangladesh”. IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 19(4), 60-67. https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-19486067
Wooldridge, J.M. (2002). “Econometric analysis of cross Section and panel data”. Combridge: MIT Press. https://books.google.com/books?id=cdBPOJUP4VsC&dq
Wells, L. T., & Adler, F. M. (1972). “The product life cycle and international trade”. (No Title).‏ https://lccn.loc.gov/78184791
Xin, Y., Yang, S., & Rasheed, M. F. (2023). “Exploring the impacts of education and unemployment on CO2 emissions”. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 36(1), 3542-3554. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2110139
Yao, Y., Ivanovski, K., Inekwe, J., & Smyth, R. (2020). “Human capital and CO2 emissions in the long run”. Energy economics, 91, 104907. doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104907
Zheng, L., Umar, M., Safi, A., & Khaddage-Soboh, N. (2024). “The role of higher education and institutional quality for carbon neutrality: Evidence from emerging economies”. Economic Analysis and Policy, 81, 406-417. doi:10.1016/j.eap.2023.12.008
 
 
Journals of Environmental Education and Sustainable Development
Volume 13, Issue 3
2025
Pages 103-116

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics