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Exploring Nexus between Urbanization Growth and Environment: with Reference to South Asian Countries

A.D.Gade, Dr.V.P.Katti, R.A.Todkar

The nexus between, urbanization, economic growth and environmental quality has been a source of great controversy for a very long time. There are two extreme views regarding this nexus. The first view demonstrates that rapid urbanisation and modernisation lead to expansion of economic activity. This greater economic activity or economic growth is inevitably leads to environmental degradation and consequently economic and ecological collapse. The second extreme approach has been demonstrates the view that those environmental problems worth solving will be addressed more or less automatically as a consequence of economic growth and modern urbanisation. This debate has still prolonged because of lack of substantial empirical evidence on how environmental quality changes at different income levels and at different level of urbanisations. Compilation of such evidence has been constrained by the absence of data for a large number of countries. At present, the situation is much improved and this paper takes a step of systematic analysis in exploring these nexus by using Log-linear, Log–lin and Lin-log models. Since it is very complex phenomenon, theoretically it is quite difficult to explore this nexus .However it is not impossible even though there are some problems exist like intercept value of variables and identification of dependent and independent variables. By considering available data of different indicators (from period 2001 to 2010) and with the help of econometric models an honest attempt is being made towards the exploring this casual nexus. Especially South Asian countries were considered for study and it arrived at conclusion that there is positive nexus between urbanisation and economic growth and on the contrary negative linkages are found between economic growth and environmental quality.