期刊名称：Discussion Papers / School of Business, University of New South Wales
出版年度：2007
卷号：2007
出版社：Sydney
摘要：The social preference for environmental care is a critical factor explaining the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC),
the purported inverted U-curve relationship between per capita income and pollution. However, little is known about
the potential impact of population ageing on the social preference for environmental protection. This is alarming as
micro based surveys reveal that demographic factors could affect social preferences for environmental quality (Hersch
and Viscusi; 2005). This study explores if and how population ageing contributes to an explanation of the EKC via
willingness to pay. The main results can be summarized as follows. In a few instances of EKC specifications for air
pollutants, we find that the estimated coefficients for population ageing are statistically different from zero and
positively impact on pollution emission. Using Baldwin (1995) decomposition of actual pollution emissions we
propose alternative explanations for this result. In particular, population ageing may impact upon incipient pollution
via various channels, e.g. the changing consumption patterns of older individuals. Also, there may a negative impact
of ageing on abatement expenditure either via individual preferences or via a tighter government budget constraint
that channels expenditure away from environmental protection. We find some evidence in support of this last
mechanism.
