Do Environmental Policy Stringency Promote Human Development in Developing Countries?

Abstract

This article analyses the effect of multilaterals environmental agreements (MEAs), the Ministry of Environment and Environmental Democracy on human development in developing countries. The sample comprises 72 countries and the data cover the period from 1995 to 2017. The analysis is carried out in cross-section and the estimation technique is that of double least squares. The results show that MEAs, the ministry of environment and environmental democracy increase the human development index. The results also show that MEAs reduce child mortality, income inequality, and improve secondary school completion rates. Finally, our results indicate that climate change, level of development and geographical location impact on human development in developing countries. We therefore recommend that these countries promote environmental policy stringency while improving their level of governance.