International trade and ecological environment: Trade modified Environmental Kuznets Curve application with Turkey

With the increasing population and human needs, environmental damage continues to increase gradually. World gross domestic product has increased 57 times in the last 54 years, while world trade has increased 149 times. In addition, increasing population, industrialization and urbanization brought about an increase in carbon dioxide emissions, and carbon dioxide emissions increased by 60% in the last 54 years. Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, in terms of the relationship between international trade and environmental pollution (carbon dioxide emission), it is generally expected that trade liberalization will cause economic growth and the resulting economic growth will increase the per capita income and contribute to the environment good or bad. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between carbon dioxide emission and trade openness, technology level and gross domestic product and the validity of the trade-adjusted environmental Kuznets curve approach in Turkey for the period 1970-2014. For this purpose, unit root tests and cointegration tests were performed firstly and after determining the cointegration relationship, long-term coefficients of the variables were estimated by fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) methods. According to the results, there is a positive relationship between international trade and carbon dioxide emission and there is a negative relationship between the square of international trade and carbon dioxide emission. These results has confirmed the inverted-U relationship between international trade and carbon dioxide emissions in Turkey.