Population structure and environmental degradation

Abstract

The primary objective of this paper is to test the hypothesis that the population age structure could contribute to carbon dioxide emission levels (environmental degradation) in Nigeria. Real income (Gross Domestic Product) was used as another determinant of CO₂ emissions to test the EKC hypothesis in this study. Also, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) econometric technique was applied in this paper to annual time series data from 1970 to 2018. The results show that age structure’s influence on the environment is significant. As expected, young adults (LOGYONG, i.e., ages 15-64) and children (LOGCHIL, i.e., ages 0-14) are environmentally intensive (due to energy-intensive goods consumed). But the older age group (LOGOLD i.e., ages 65 and above) exert a negative effect. The results of long-term estimation for the population structure-induced EKC hypothesis show that none of the coefficients of economic growth were statistically significant at any of the conventional levels. In other words, this finding did not prove the existence of EKC hypothesis. However, appropriate macroeconomic policies, technological innovations, and institutional developments are very important in maintaining a sound environment in Nigeria.