Abstract
This study utilized panel data from 132 countries spanning from 1996 to 2019 to examine the effect of government efficiency on carbon emission intensity. Using a fixed effect model, the study found that stronger government efficiency is associated with a significant decrease in carbon emission intensity. Robustness tests were performed, the results of which consistently supported the main findings. Additionally, the study investigated the mechanisms underlying the linkage between government efficiency and carbon emission intensity, revealing that improved government efficiency can inhibit carbon emission intensity by fostering environmental innovation and promoting renewable energy consumption. Finally, the study examined the moderating effects of national income level, economic freedom, democracy, and ruling party ideology on the nexus of government efficiency and carbon emission intensity, and found empirical evidence supporting these moderating effects. These results provide new insights for governments seeking to reduce carbon emission intensity.
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Data availability
Data is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Notes
Carbon emission intensity is measured as carbon dioxide emission per unit of GDP.
These seven variables are abbreviated as GDP, PD, UR, AVS, TEV, FDI and FFC, respectively.
The World Bank divides the world’s countries into four groups based on per capita gross national income: low income countries, lower-middle income countries, upper-middle income countries, and high income countries. Middle income countries are defined in this study as include both lower- and upper-middle income countries. The specific list of country categories can be obtained on the official website of the World Bank.
The data of Polity2 index is available from the following website: https://www.systemicpeace.org/inscrdata.html.
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This work was supported by Universiti Putra Malaysia under Grant No. GPSPE6303819.
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All authors conceived of and designed the research framework. Peidong Deng collected the data. Yemin Ding and Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary conducted the analysis. The original draft was prepared by Yemin Ding; Lee Chin and Abdul Samad Abdul-Rahim revised the paper. All authors have read the paper and approved the final manuscript.
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Appendix
Appendix
List A1. The country list
Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Dem. Rep., Congo, Rep., Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Arab Rep., El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Islamic Rep., Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Rep., Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkiye, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Rep., Zambia, Zimbabwe.
See Table 5
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Ding, Y., Chin, L., Taghizadeh-Hesary, F. et al. How does government efficiency affect carbon emission intensity? A comprehensive empirical study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 123067–123082 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-31069-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-31069-4