Does Income Inequality Endanger Green Growth? Evidence from Selected Countries in Asia and the Global South

Haruna Emmanuel Umoru () and Tawiah Vincent ()
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Haruna Emmanuel Umoru: Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan and International Centre for Economic Analysis, Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada, Postal: Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Economic Development and Policies, Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan. , Research Fellow, International Centre for Economic Analysis (ICEA), Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Tawiah Vincent: Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland, Postal: Assistant Professor, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland.

Journal of Economic Integration, 2025, vol. 40, issue 1, 181-204

Abstract: Income inequality poses a constraint to inclusive growth and development, but whether and how economic inequality affects green growth is relatively understudied in the existing literature. To address this empirical and knowledge gap, the analysis of the paper begins with theoretical perspectives on the diffusion of green growth technologies and how it relates to income inequality. We collected annual data from selected Global South countries from 1991 to 2019 and then used the pooled mean group-autoregressive distribution lag (PMG-ARDL) and the augmented mean group- autoregressive distribution lag (AMG-ARDL) as a benchmark estimation methods and cross-sectional autoregressive distribution lag (CS-ARDL) for robustness checks to investigate the short- and long-run implications for green growth. The results show that higher income inequality is associated with reduced green growth in the long run, whereas the short-run results are mixed. The findings suggest that governments in the Global South should implement effective reforms aimed at lowering inequality while reducing carbon emissions and promoting a green economy.

Keywords: Income Inequality; Green Growth; C02 Emissions; Climate Change; Global South (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: P46 Q43 Q55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:integr:0940

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