The effects of income inequality on environmental quality in oil-exporting and oil-importing countries: An application of the quantile panel approach

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 university of tabriz

2 university of Tabriz

10.22080/jeem.2025.30158.1033

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to examine the effects of income distribution inequality on carbon dioxide emissions in 7 oil-importing countries and 10 oil-exporting countries. This study covers the period from 2000 to 2021 and employs the panel quantile regression approach. The results of the study indicate that in oil-exporting countries, the impact of income inequality on carbon dioxide emissions is negative and significant. Additionally, the findings show that the effects of energy consumption and trade openness on carbon dioxide emissions are respectively negative and positive and statistically significant, while other model variables such as industrialization and urbanization do not have a significant impact on carbon dioxide emissions. The research findings in oil-importing countries reveal that, contrary to oil-exporting countries, the effect of income inequality on carbon dioxide emissions is positive and significant. Based on the results, in this group of countries, industrialization and urbanization have a positive and significant impact, whereas trade openness and renewable energy consumption have a negative and significant effect on carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, the findings suggest that the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis is confirmed for both groups of oil-exporting and oil-importing countries, such that the effect of income inequality on carbon dioxide emissions follows an inverted U-shape and is statistically significant.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 29 September 2025
  • Revise Date: 15 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 20 November 2025
  • Publish Date: 21 April 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics