Does Buddhism have much to offer in terms of reduction in global CO_2 emissions? A panel data analysis

Jungho Suh ()
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Jungho Suh: The University of Adelaide Geography, Environment and Population, Adelaide, Australia

Society and Economy, 2013, vol. 35, issue 2, 209-225

Abstract: The primary intent of this paper is to statistically test whether Buddhist countries tend to contribute to global warming mitigation in comparison with other religious groups of countries. A sample of 160 countries were classified into seven groups coded as ‘Buddhist’, ‘Hindu’, ‘Muslim’, ‘Catholic’, ‘Protestant’, ‘Christian mixed’ and ‘None of the above’. This study modelled the religious heritage of a nation into the IPAT equation (Environmental Impact = Population × Affluence × Technology), religion being as a cultural proxy of the technology factor. ‘Buddhist’ countries were found likely to emit lower CO_2 compared with ‘Protestant’ and ‘Christian mixed’ countries, although likely to emit higher CO_2 compared than ‘Hindu’, ‘Muslim’ and ‘Catholic’ countries, all other factors being held equal. The relatively low group effect of ‘Buddhist’ countries on CO_2 emissions can be interpreted to support the argument that teaching Buddhist economics and ecology could be a useful ingredient to curb ever-increasing global CO_2 emissions. Thus, further study is warranted as to how teachings from Buddhism can translate into lower CO_2 emissions.

Keywords: IPAT equation; fixed effects; random effects; panel cointegration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C31 N30 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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