Political and economic inequality and the environment

This paper analyzes and tests the hypothesis that political and economic equality result in lower levels of environmental degradation. Based on formal statements of the argument put forward by Boyce, R., 1994, Ecological Economics, ii, 169-178, I show that equality may or may not be necessary to minimize degradation. Under some plausible conditions, greater inequality may even be conducive to lower degradation. Actual results depend primarily on the intersection between the distribution of preferences across groups and the institutional rules. Two cross-national empirical tests tend to support the contention that distributional issues do not systematically explain variations in environmental quality. The results reinforce the conclusion that assumptions about the structure of preferences and workings of social choice institutions ignore complex interactions which influence the relationship between degradation and equality. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.