This paper casts doubt on empirical results based on panel estimations of an inverted-U relationship between per capita GDP and pollution. Using a new data set for OECD countries on carbon dioxide emissions for the period 1960-1997, we find that the crucial assumption of homogeneity across...

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are among the world's top emitters of CO2 and SO2 in per capita terms. The objective of this paper is to analyze whether investing in the democratic development of these countries is an effective tool to make the economic growth in this region...

Environmental quality and climate change have long attracted attention in policy debates. Recently, air quality has emerged on the policy agenda. We calculate a new index of air quality using CO2 and SO2 emissions per capita as indicators and provide a ranking for 122 countries from 1985 to...