CO2 Emissions and Economic Growth in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Countries

Abstract

The objective of this work is to address the validity of a quadratic environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries over the period 1970-2010. The bound test procedure is used to analyze the relationship between CO₂ emissions and GDP. The results indicate that there is no long term relationship between these variables for the panel of 8 countries of the WAEMU. Similarly, the co-integration exists only in Benin, Mali and Togo. For the purposes of robustness check, additional variables (energy consumption and trade openness) and the Sasabuchi–Lind–Mehlum U test are used. The results confirm the validity of a quadratic carbon Kuznets curve only in Mali. Moreover, the validity of the "pollution havens" hypothesis suggests that the government of Mali should strengthen its environmental regulation policy to limit the influx of polluting industries in the country.