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Economic Prosperity, Strong Sustainability, and Global Biodiversity Conservation: Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve

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2009, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology.

Ecologists tend to be wary of the effects of increasing wealth on the environment, arguing that economic growth and conservation are incompatible goals. Many economists, on the other hand, expect economic growth to be a cure for global environmental challenges; they contend that wealthier countries have the luxury of investing more heavily in efforts to conserve and protect ecosystems. The economic perspective is formalized in the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis (EKC), which suggests a u-shaped relationship between income and environmental quality. In order to test this EKC hypothesis, I use estimates of per capita income and deforestation rates (index of biodiversity threat) for 35 tropical countries. A prior analysis (Dietz and Adger 2003) using conventional regression techniques failed to provide any support for the parabolic relationship predicted by the EKC hypothesis. Here, I introduce the use of quantile regression and spatial filtering to reanalyze this data, addressing issues of heteroskedasticity and spatial autocorrelation. I note that preliminary analysis using these methods provides some initial evidence for an EKC; rich countries appear to protect a greater proportion of their forests than do poorer countries. However, a series of panel analyses with country-specific dummy variables eliminated or even reversed much of this support. A closer examination of conservation practices and environmental indicators within the countries, particularly those countries that drove the initial support, suggest that wealth is not a reliable indicator of improved conservation practice. Thus, the findings of my first study indicate that an EKC for biodiversity is overly simplistic and further exploration is required to fully understand the mechanisms by which income affects biodiversity.

I hypothesize that illusory support for the EKC is driven by patterns of trade and consumption. I examine the relationship between per capita GDP and forest conservation for the original tropical dataset, as well as for an expanded group of 88 countries spanning all income groups and latitudes; consumption of forest products is incorporated via production, import, and export data. I perform two analyses. One incorporates all forest products (including wood used for fuel), and one excludes fuelwood. Because low income countries use more fuelwood than any other group, its inclusion reveals consumption-driven losses at both income extremes. When fuel is excluded, it becomes apparent that wealth is detrimental to conservation. Rich countries may practice preservation within their borders, but they appropriate resources from poorer countries to fuel their consumption. This suggests that, by decreasing reliance on fuelwood, increasing prosperity may play a key role in promoting conservation in poor countries. Unhindered economic growth, however, increases consumption at the expense of global conservation.

Elizabeth Marschall, PhD (Advisor)
Becky Mansfield, PhD (Committee Member)
Amanda Rodewald, PhD (Committee Member)
Brent Sohngen, PhD (Committee Member)
102 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mills, J. H. (2009). Economic Prosperity, Strong Sustainability, and Global Biodiversity Conservation: Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243432252

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mills, Julianne. Economic Prosperity, Strong Sustainability, and Global Biodiversity Conservation: Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve. 2009. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243432252.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mills, Julianne. "Economic Prosperity, Strong Sustainability, and Global Biodiversity Conservation: Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243432252

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)