The effect of industrialization, militarization, and government expenditure on carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana

The need to attain lower carbon dioxide emissions has become a topical issue in recent times. The effect of a number of economic variables on carbon dioxide emissions has been empirically assessed. Rising government expenditure, industrialization, and militarization have characterized many developing countries including Ghana. While it is undeniable that such situation has socio-economic importance to offer developing countries, their environmental effects have become a matter of debate among researchers. This study assesses the carbon dioxide emissions effect of industrialization, government expenditure, and militarization in Ghana. Based on the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) framework, the study models Ghana's carbon emission as a function of income, population, industrialization, government expenditure, and military expenditure. Time series data over the 1971-2018 period was used for investigation. The techniques employed to analyze the data were unit root test, cointegration test, and regression analysis. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) regression approach reveals there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between income and carbon emission confirming the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Also in the long run, carbon emissions are positively influenced by population, industrialization, and militarization but reduced by government expenditure. Similar outcome was obtained in the short run. The paper concludes that the level of income, industrialization, militarization, and population matters to deal with carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana. Policy implications of the findings include the urgent need for authorities to promote the use of eco-friendly production methods for military and industrial activities to sustain the economic growth without harming the environment.