Abstract
This chapter explores the interplay between population and environmental quality. After reviewing the existing literature, we set up a theoretical framework suitable to analyze two major endogenous forces of demographic change-fertility and life expectancy-and their dynamic interaction with human capital and environmental conditions. We thus revisit and encompass in a unified model some key results of the literature, and gain new insight on the consequences of policy intervention on environmental dynamics and economic development. In particular, we highlight (1) the possible perverse effects of pollution control, (2) a demographic explanation of the environmental Kuznets curve, (3) the opportunity of relying on educational subsidies to alleviate the pressure on natural resources, and (4) the existence of poverty traps related to human capital and environmental quality.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Human Capital and Economic Growth |
| Subtitle of host publication | The Impact of Health, Education and Demographic Change |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
| Pages | 295-322 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9783030215996 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9783030215989 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2019 |
Keywords
- Education
- Environmental quality
- Fertility
- Life expectancy
