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Annual Review of Economics

Volume 14, 2022

How Economic Development Influences the Environment

Abstract

Reducing global poverty and addressing climate change and other environmental crises are among the most important challenges facing humanity today. This review discusses one way in which these problems are intertwined: how economic development affects the environment. I synthesize recent micro-empirical research on the environmental effects of economic development in low- and middle-income countries. The studies that I discuss identify the causal effects of specific aspects of economic development, such as greater household purchasing power, expanded access to credit, more secure property rights, technological progress, and stronger regulatory capacity. I conclude by outlining some gaps in the literature.

Keyword(s): economic growth, environmental conservation, environmental Kuznets curve, JEL O13, JEL O44, JEL Q01, JEL Q56, poverty reduction
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2022-08-12
2024-04-28
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/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-economics-082321-123803
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How Economic Development Influences the Environment
Annual Review of Economics 14, 229 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-082321-123803
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-economics-082321-123803
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-economics-082321-123803
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