Carbon emissions, income inequality and environmental degradation : the case of Mediterranean countries

This study examines the main driving forces affecting short- and long-term CO2 emissions pattern due to changes in growth and income inequality for 11 Mediterranean economies over the period 1990-2012. It proposes an autoregressive dynamic distributive lag dynamic panel specification to (i) test for non-linearity between income inequality and CO2 emissions, (ii) assess whether there is a differentiated effect of income inequality on CEO2 emissions depending on the level of GDP, and (iii) test for other sources of non-linearity between income inequality and CO2 emissions. The results indicate a negative and significant association between income inequality and carbon emissions which means that greater inequality leads to environmental degradation. However, in the short-run, the results show a positive and significant relationship between the income inequality and CO2 emissions