Are democratic regime and the magnitude of the informal economy robust determinants of human impacts on the environment? An extreme bounds analysis

Abstract

There is a vast body of literature dedicated to identifying the major drivers that explain human impacts on the environment. In this study, we utilize the STIRPAT framework to assess whether two controversial factors should be considered when examining how humans affect the environment. Specifically, we investigate whether the quality of the democratic regime and the size of the informal economy play significant roles in determining human impacts on the environment. To address this question, we employ the extreme bounds analysis (EBA) to characterize these drivers as either robust or fragile. Based on the findings of this paper, both variables are classified as fragile, suggesting that they may not fully explain human impacts on the environment. We have taken great care in interpreting the results.