The Effects of Primary Sector Foreign Investment on Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Agriculture Production in Less-Developed Countries, 1980-99

Abstract

This research helps to increase our collective understanding of the complex interrelationships between foreign investment dependence and environmental degradation. Panel regresssion analyses of 35 less developed countries from 1980 to 1999 are conducted to test the hypothesis that foreign direct investment in the primary sector increases carbon dioxide emissions from agriculture production. Results confi rm the hypothesis, providing support for the theory of foreign capital dependence. Level of agriculture production and the use of tractors are also found to increase the growth of carbon dioxide emissions from this primary sector activity. Conversely, nations more likely to ratify international environmental treaties exhibit suppressed growth in emissions. These fi ndings underscore the need for social scientists to investigate the environmental impacts of both the level and transnational organization of production in different sectors as well as the overall use of relevant machinery and the environmental commitments of nation-states.