A shadow distance function decomposition of the environmental Kuznets curve: comparing the South China Sea and the Caribbean

This study decomposes the environmental Kuznets curve for CO₂ into scale, composition and technique effects for a sample of countries in the South China Sea and Caribbean basins, regions at risk of increased exposure to extreme tropical weather and at different developmental stages. Effect variation with respect to population density and investment proportion of GDP show evidence of more effective abatement activities and more appropriate technology in the South China Sea economies. The countries with the highest levels of technical efficiency in the different regions also have the most equal distribution of income and the highest population densities.