Environmental Kuznets Curve for Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Economic Growth in Algeria

Abstract

This article examines how economic growth affects the environment through the lens of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, by testing the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for the case of Algeria during the period 1973–2016. For this, the auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) method is used. The results of the econometric analysis confirm the existence of a positive long-term relationship between CO2 emissions and real GDP and show that the direction of this relationship goes from economic growth to CO2 emissions according to Granger causality tests. Specifically, for a developing country like Algeria, economic growth determines the level of emissions. This implies that an energy policy in favour of the environment can be put in place without risking negative repercussions on economic growth. In addition, the results of the ARDL regression validate EKC’s hypothesis: in the first phase, economic growth leads to a higher level of CO2 emissions, however, when a given threshold (inflection point) is reached, these emissions decrease. JEL Codes: O10, O47, Q50, Q53