Q5 - Environmental EconomicsReturn

Electricity production strategies of countries rely on fossil fuel-based electricity generation. Environmental regulations (ER) are needed to shift to green electricity for achieving energy transition, but corruption and bureaucracy can influence ER, energy transition and ecological quality. Hence, this research considers two important constituents of country risks including corruption and bureaucracy in the model while understanding the connections between green electricity, ER and the load capacity factor (LCF) in BRICS from 1992 to 2018. The research chooses a recent proxy of ecological quality (i.e., LCF), which effectively measures the ecological quality and indicates the possibility of sustainable growth by using biocapacity and ecological footprint figures. The results of the research disclose that green electricity Granger-causes and enhances the LCF, whereas controlling corruption and enhancing bureaucracy quality improves ecological quality. ER improves environmental quality and the load capacity curve (LCC) hypothesis also exists. Lastly, policy directions are discussed.

Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) has been widely recognized as a standard model of hypothetical relationship between economic development and environment quality. The article presents results of an empirical research on EKC for the air pollution selected indicators in the Czech Republic in 1975-2012.To deal with the issue of different macroeconomic indicators calculated in socialist economy and after its transition to a market economy, EKC modeling was done with consolidated data on national economic performance. The results suggest, contrary to a widespread opinion, that changes in trends (turning points) for some pollutants on EKC can be found already in the 1980s. It also can be concluded, based on results received for the period after the year 2000 that validity of EKC might be in question for some pollutants. Following research on EKC for other pollutants and countries, as well as an application of other methodological approaches, could contribute both to better understanding of EKC model, including economic and social (pre)conditions of its validity, and its theoretical context.