Correlation Between GNI and Environmental Sustainabiltiy
Session Title
Environment, Government, and Conflict
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Political Science
Faculty Mentor
PLSC 350 – Kim
Abstract
This study examines factors of environmental sustainability. In particular, it tests countries’ progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the strength of their governments in comparison to countries’ GNI per capita; a panel data analysis is performed on the dataset consisting of all countries between 2002 and 2014. The main independent variable measures each country’s GNI per capita, and the main dependent variables measure CO2 emissions and government effectiveness. The study finds that, on average, when countries increase their GNI per capita by one dollar, they emit 0.000899 metric tons per capita more CO2 and have 0.00003913 z-score more effective governments. Both results have statistical significance, with 10.215 and 17.14 as t-value results, respectively, which represents a 95% confidence level. The implications of the study may be that countries with a higher GNI per capita have stronger governments and are, therefore, in a better position to care about their environmental impact; however, another major implication is shown from the downtrend in slope coefficients between 2002 and 2014, which indicates that GNI per capita is slowly becoming less relevant toward progress to the SDGs and strength of government.
Course Assignment
PLSC 350 – Kim
Start Date
12-4-2019 3:30 PM
Correlation Between GNI and Environmental Sustainabiltiy
West 217
This study examines factors of environmental sustainability. In particular, it tests countries’ progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the strength of their governments in comparison to countries’ GNI per capita; a panel data analysis is performed on the dataset consisting of all countries between 2002 and 2014. The main independent variable measures each country’s GNI per capita, and the main dependent variables measure CO2 emissions and government effectiveness. The study finds that, on average, when countries increase their GNI per capita by one dollar, they emit 0.000899 metric tons per capita more CO2 and have 0.00003913 z-score more effective governments. Both results have statistical significance, with 10.215 and 17.14 as t-value results, respectively, which represents a 95% confidence level. The implications of the study may be that countries with a higher GNI per capita have stronger governments and are, therefore, in a better position to care about their environmental impact; however, another major implication is shown from the downtrend in slope coefficients between 2002 and 2014, which indicates that GNI per capita is slowly becoming less relevant toward progress to the SDGs and strength of government.
