The Relationship between Economic Growth and Air Pollution—A Regional Comparison between China and South Korea

Min Jiang, Euijune Kim and Youngjin Woo
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Min Jiang: Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development and Research Institute of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Euijune Kim: Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development and Research Institute of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Youngjin Woo: Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development and Research Institute of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-20

Abstract: This paper analyzes the interaction between regional economic growth and air pollution in China and Korea. The relationship between gross regional product per capita and industrial emission of sulfur dioxide emission is examined at the regional level using simultaneous equation models covering 286 cities in China and 228 cities and counties in South Korea of the period 2006–2016. The results find that regional differences existed in the relationship between air pollution and economic growth in two countries. In both countries, an inverted U-shaped pattern was found in metropolitan areas while a U-shaped pattern of non-metropolitan areas. Although the emissions of pollutants in metropolitan areas of both countries have shown a downward trend in recent years, there is still a large gap between the overall emission levels of China and South Korea. Moreover, the level of pollutant emissions of China’s metropolitan areas is much higher than in non-metropolitan areas, while the opposite result has occurred in Korea. In China, there was an inverted U-shaped relationship of the eastern and northwest region, while U-shaped relationships existed in the southwest, central and northeast regions.

Keywords: air pollution; regional economic growth; international comparison; China; South Korea (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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