Investigating the effect of forest per capita on explaining the EKC hypothesis for CO₂ in the US

Abstract

This paper investigates the net effect of forest resources on the emission of CO₂ while testing the EKC hypothesis for CO₂ at the county level in the US. Using a county-level data obtained from the Vulcan Project and employing a weighted lag-dependent variable of CO₂ emissions, an inverted-U-shaped relationship between income and emissions of CO₂ per capita is detected in the US. However, the estimated income turning points (ITPs) are slightly higher than the average income per capita but are within an attainable range, suggesting that further economic growth would be a viable environmental policy to address the emissions of CO₂ in the US. The estimated net effect of forests resources on the emissions of CO₂ suggests that forest fires and degradation dominate the carbon sequestration capacity of standing forests in the US.

Keywords:

• environmental Kuznets curve
• income turning points
• forest fires
• CO₂

JEL codes:

• Q15
• Q23
• Q54
• Q56

Notes

1. The data website is http://vulcan.project.asu.edu/research.php. The data were accessed on 20 April 2013.

2. The data website is http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/major-land-uses.aspx#25972. The data were accessed on 10 May 2013.