James K. Boyce

Income, inequality, and pollution: a reassessment of the environmental Kuznets Curve

Abstract Improvements in some measures of air and water quality can accompany rising per capita income, as illustrated by the so-called environmental Kuznets curve. For pollution variables which show such a relationship, we hypothesize that a more equitable distribution of power contributes to these outcomes, by enhancing the influence on policy of those who bear the costs of pollution, relative to the influence of those who benefit from pollution-generating activities. An empirical analysis of international variations in seven indicators of air and water quality supports this hypothesis. Literacy, political rights, and civil liberties are found to have particularly strong effects on environmental quality in low-income countries.

INEQUALITY AS A CAUSE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

This paper advances two hypotheses. First, the extent of an environmentally degrading economic activity is a function of the balance of power between the winners, who derive net benefits from the activity, and the losers, who bear net costs. Second, greater inequalities of power and wealth lead, all else equal, to more environmental degradation.

Is Africa a Net Creditor? New Estimates of Capital Flight from Severely Indebted Sub-Saharan African Countries, 1970-1996

This paper presents estimates of capital flight from 25 low-income sub-Saharan African countries in the period 1970 to 1996. Capital flight totaled more than

Power distribution, the environment, and public health: A state-level analysis

193 billion (in 1996 dollars); with imputed interest earnings, the accumulated stock of flight capital amounts to

The Political Economy of the Environment

285 billion. The combined external debt of these countries stood at

The revolving door? External debt and capital flight: A Philippine case study

178 billion in 1996. Taking capital flight as a measure of private external assets, and calculating net external assets as private external assets minus public external debts, sub-Saharan Africa thus appears to be a net creditor vis-a-vis the rest of the world.

Capital flight from sub-Saharan Africa: linkages with external borrowing and policy options

Abstract This paper examines relationships among power distribution, the environment, and public health by means of a cross-sectional analysis of the 50 US states. A measure of inter-state variations in power distribution is derived from data on voter participation, tax fairness, Medicaid access, and educational attainment. We develop and estimate a recursive model linking the distribution of power to environmental policy, environmental stress, and public health. The results support the hypothesis that greater power inequality leads to weaker environmental policies, which in turn lead to greater environmental degradation and to adverse public health outcomes.

Birth of a megaproject: Political economy of flood control in bangladesh

In a provocative and original analysis, James K. Boyce examines the dynamics of environmental degradation in terms of the balances of power between the winners and the losers. He provides evidence that inequalities of power and wealth affect not only the distribution of environmental costs, but also their overall magnitude: greater inequalities result in more environmental degradation. Democratization – movement toward a more equitable distribution of power – therefore is not only a worthwhile objective in its own right, but also an important means toward the social goals of environmental protection and sustainable development.

Let them eat risk? Wealth, rights and disaster vulnerability

Abstract In recent decades the private citizens of a number of Third World countries accumulated substantial external assets via “capital flight” at the same time their governments incurred large external debts. This paper proposes a classification of hypothetical linkages between capital flight and external debt disbursements, and examines the strength of these linkages in the Philippines during 1962-86. Econometric analysis and anecdotal evidence indicate that large sums of capital flowed into and out of the Philippines through a financial revolving door. On this basis I conclude that there is scope for political and legal challenges to the legitimacy of a substantial fraction of the countrys external debt.

Inequality and Environmental Protection

Even as African countries became increasingly indebted, they experienced large‐scale capital flight. Some of this was legitimately acquired capital fleeing economic and political uncertainties; some was illegitimately acquired wealth spirited to safer havens abroad. This paper presents new estimates of the magnitude and timing of capital flight from 33 sub‐Saharan African countries from 1970 to 2004. We then analyze its determinants, including linkages to external borrowing. Our results confirm that sub‐Saharan Africa is a net creditor to the rest of the world, in that the subcontinent’s private external assets exceed its public external liabilities: total capital flight amounted to