Is faster economic growth compatible with reductions in carbon emissions? The role of diminished population growth.

ABSTRACT: We provide evidence that lower fertility can simultaneously increase income per capita and lower carbon emissions, eliminating a trade-off central to most policies aimed at slowing global climate change. We estimate the effect of lower fertility on carbon emissions, accounting for the fact that changes in fertility patterns affect carbon emissions through three channels: total population, the age structure of the population, and economic output. Our analysis proceeds in two steps. First, we estimate the elasticity of carbon emissions with respect to population and income per capita in an unbalanced yearly panel of cross-country data from 1950-2010. We demonstrate that the elasticity with respect to population is nearly seven times larger than the elasticity with respect to income per capit

SUBMITTER: Casey G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7015536 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature