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The effect of political stability, carbon dioxide emission and economic growth on income inequality: evidence from developing, high income and Belt Road initiative countries

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Abstract

The reduction of income inequality and environmental frailty are important factors which can help achieve sustainable development. In this context, it is important to investigate the nexus between income inequality and carbon dioxide emission by considering the role of political stability. This paper examines the effect of political stability, economic growth, financial development, and carbon dioxide on income inequality in developing countries, high-income countries, and the Belt Road initiative (BRI) countries from 2002 to 2019. By employing a two-step generalized method of moments and panel quantile regression, the findings show that carbon dioxide emission, financial development, and political stability rise income inequality while economic growth significantly reduces income inequality in developing countries. In the case of high-income countries, political stability and carbon dioxide negatively affect income inequality while financial development rise income inequality. In the case of BRI countries, political stability, economic growth, and carbon dioxide emission significantly reduce income inequality. Our findings have considerable policy implications regarding reducing income inequality in the sample countries.

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Funding

This research is supported by the National Social Science Fund Major Projects Development History of China Special Economic Zones (1978-2018) (16ZDA003) and Standardization of Trade in Services Project Information Technology Solutions Service Standardization Research (FMBZH-2110).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China Research Center for Special Economic Zones, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China

    Hayat Khan & Liu Weili

  2. Chinese Institute for Quality Economy Development, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China

    Liu Weili

  3. Business School of Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan, China

    Itbar Khan

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  1. Hayat Khan
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Innovation of the study and formal analysis were performed by Hayat Khan, proofreading and direction were given by Liu Weili, and formal writing was done by Itbar Khan.

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Correspondence to Liu Weili.

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Appendices

Appendix 1

Appendix Table 13

Table 13 Symbols and descriptions
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Appendix 2. Belt and road countries list

Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz republic, Lao PDR, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovak republic, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam

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Khan, H., Weili, L. & Khan, I. The effect of political stability, carbon dioxide emission and economic growth on income inequality: evidence from developing, high income and Belt Road initiative countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 6758–6785 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22675-9

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