Does income inequality affect direct and indirect household CO2 emissions? A quantile regression approach

Abstract

Income inequality plays as a driver of direct and indirect CO2 emissions from the household sector. Existing research has done a lot of work on the accounting methods and influencing factors of household direct CO2 emissions and indirect CO2 emissions. There are few studies on the impact of income inequality on direct and indirect household CO2 emissions under different emission levels. This research investigates the impact of income inequality on both direct and indirect CO2 emissions of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2015 using the STIRPAT model and panel quantile regression method. Theil index is selected to measure income inequality, population, per capita consumption level, energy intensity, urbanization, and industrial structure as control variables. The results indicate that the level of regional inequality is gradually increasing from the east to the west. The household indirect CO2 emissions in the east increased fastest, while the household direct CO2 emissions in the west increased fastest. Income inequality significantly promoted direct CO2 emissions under all quantile levels, while the impact on indirect CO2 emissions is not significant. Population and per capita consumption will promote direct and indirect CO2 emissions. Urbanization has no significant impact on direct CO2 emissions. Only at the 90th percentile level is there a significant negative correlation between energy intensity and indirect CO2 emissions. Industrial structure significantly increases direct CO2 emissions at the 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles, while the impact on indirect CO2 emissions is not significant.