Land artificialization, economic growth, and road insecurity: Theoretical improvements and empirical validation for the case of Algeria

Harizi Riadh

doi:10.47577/tssj.v18i1.3073

Abstract

This paper applies the Kuznets (1955) curve approach to road traffic crashes in Algeria based on active population, motorization rate, income per capita, and land artificialization. It aims to establish a link between economic development and road safety by estimating the terms of quadratic equations related to the occurrence of traffic collisions. The results reveal that a link between economic development and road safety can be validated by two econometric specifications for the Kuznets curve (KC). Indeed, because economic conditions remained favorable, the Algerian economy reached its inflection point in 2011 and then entered the second phase of the KC. The increase in the level of economic development then in turn led to an improved road-safety situation in terms of lower mortality rates on the roads.

Highlights

The artificialization of land initially referred to the loss of agricultural and forest areas due to changes in land use
Algeria is in the second phase of the Kuznets curve, so an increase in economic development should lead to improvements in road safety in terms of a lower mortality rate on the roads
Oran is in the second phase of the Kuznets curve, so an increase in the level of land artificialization will lead to improvements in the road safety situation in terms of lower mortality on the roads due to better quality road infrastructure thanks to the economic benefits of development

Summary

Introduction

The artificialization of land initially referred to the loss of agricultural and forest areas due to changes in land use. A few years later, Grossman and Krueger (1995) adapted this concept to develop the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) with the aim of testing the relationships between atmospheric pollution, development, and the quality of the environment (Newman and Kenworthy, 1988; Stern, 2004; M’raihi et al, 2014). They revealed an inverted-U-shape relationship between environmental degradation and per capita income, indicating that in the early stages of economic growth, pollution and its effects on the Technium Social Sciences Journal Vol 18, 241-255, April, 2021 ISSN: 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com environment increase. Once the level of per capita income reaches a certain threshold, further economic growth results in more public spending to improve the environmental quality (Stern, 2004; M’raihi et al, 2014; Gill et al, 2018)

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion