AZƏRBAYCANDA İQTİSADİ İSLAHATLARIN HƏYATA KEÇİRİLMƏSİ XÜSUSİYYƏTLƏRİ VƏ PROBLEMLƏRİ, pp.265-276, 2025 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
ECONOMETRIC ESTIMATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION LEVEL ON CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS IN THE EXAMPLE OF AZERBAIJAN
ABSTRACT
The article on the example of Azerbaijan econometrically assessed the influence of the level of education on carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere based on official statistical data of the State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 1997-2022. It was determined that the number of high school and university graduates, as well as PhD per 10,000 population, has a negative impact on carbon dioxide emissions with a lag of 6, 13, and 6 years, respectively, while income per capita has a positive impact. The results obtained for Azerbaijan suggest that the impact of education quality on the environment is significant. COVID-19 pandemic restrictions reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 26.84% in 2020 compared to the previous year. According to the constructed econometric model, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), which is considered true for developed countries, is not valid for Azerbaijan. Trend models are constructed, determining that for the period under consideration, the rates of per capita growth of environmental pollution in Azerbaijan lagged the rates of per capita income growth. The equilibrium condition under which the environmental Kuznets curve can be fair for Azerbaijan is formulated. We note that this equilibrium condition is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition. It should be noted that the influence of the level of education on carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere was realized for the first time using the example of Azerbaijan. From the point of view of reducing the environmental load on the influence of the level of education we can distinguish by groups higher education, PhD and graduates of full secondary school. This shows that in Azerbaijan the influence of the level of education on ecology is very significant. And it confirms that the level of education is also very important for Azerbaijan in terms of sustainable development in terms of its environmental component. The results obtained in the paper can be used by decision-makers in the field of education and economic policy.
Keywords: CO2, secondary, tertiary, PhD, income per capita, COVID-19