Does Foreign Investment Harm the Air We Breathe and the Water We Drink? A Cross-National Study of Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Organic Water Pollution in Less-Developed Countries, 1975 to 2000

Abstract

This research investigates the extent to which the transnational organization of production in the context of foreign investment dependence affects the environment in less developed countries. Drawing from the theory of foreign investment dependence, the author tests two hypotheses: (a) Foreign investment dependence in the manufacturing sector is positively associated with carbon dioxide emissions in less developed countries, and (b) foreign investment dependence in the manufacturing sector is positively associated with the emission of organic water pollutants in less developed countries. Findings for the ordinary least squares fixed effects panel regression analyses confirm both hypotheses, providing support for the theory. Other results correspond with prior research in the political-economic and structural human ecology traditions.