Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
from dumping of pollutants from developed countries into the economies
of developing countries.
De Bruyn's i ndings showed that structural changes failed to give
evidence of being the determinant of the reduction in SO
2
emissions of
developed economies during the 1980s. However, by assuming that envi-
ronmental policy targets were representative of environmental policy
ef orts, he found that richer countries had more ambitious environmental
policies. Therefore, he concluded that the scale ef ect of economic growth
resulted in environmental degradation unless corrected by appropri-
ate environmental policies. Hence, environmental policies, fostered by
international agreements, were the most important determinant for the
reduction of SO
2
emissions at higher income levels. He also added that
income was only a minor determinant of environmental policy and that
the current state of the environment was an important determinant in
reducing SO
2
emissions.
Hilton and Levinson (1998) examined the relationship between automo-
tive lead emissions and national income for 48 countries, with 1990 popu-
lations exceeding 10 million, over a period of 20 years (1972-92) using data
from Octel's Worldwide Gasoline Survey. The survey reported the average
lead content of gasoline for over 150 countries, on a biannual basis. The
total gasoline consumption data were compiled from various OECD pub-
lications, while income and population data were obtained from the Penn
World Table documented in Summers and Heston (1991). The income
data used were real per capita GDP. They broke down total emissions into
'pollution intensity', which was measured as the lead per gallon of gaso-
line, and 'pollution activity', being the total gasoline consumption.
The authors arrived at three main conclusions. First, a U-shaped curve
relationship existed between lead emissions and income. Second, the peak
of the curve was dependent on the functional form estimated and the
time period considered. Third, lead pollution was the product of pollu-
tion intensity and polluting activity and the declining portion of the curve
depended on reducing the gasoline lead content and not gasoline use. In
other words, the existence of regulations to reduce pollution intensity, as a
policy response, was a requirement for the improvement in environmental
quality that accompanied growth in income.
Hilton and Levinson examined the relationship between income and
two separate factors of pollution: pollution activity and pollution inten-
sity. They explained that the observed inverse-U relationship might be
due to two reasons. The i rst reason they attributed to what was called
the 'composition ef ect'. This was referred to as the pattern of economic
development, which was considered to go through transition stages, start-
ing with agriculture, which was not pollution-intensive, to manufacturing
