Agglomeration, inequality, and the environment in an R&D-based growth model

• Published in: Letters in spatial and resource sciences Vol. 18; no. 1; p. 21
• Main Author: Hamaguchi, Yoshihiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2025; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural Economics; Costs; Demography; Economic growth; Economic inequality; Economics; Economics and Finance; Emissions; Environmental Economics; Environmental policy; Environmental quality; Foreign investment; Geographical Information Systems/Cartography; Growth models; Growth rate; Households; Hypotheses; Income inequality; Income redistribution; Influence; Labor supply; Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning; Leisure; Manufacturing; Original Paper; Pollution; R&D; Regional/Spatial Science; Research & development; Statistical significance; Sustainable development; Variables; United States > US; D63; R11; Leisure; Foreign direct investment; Pollution havens hypothesis; F18; Distribution effect; Inequality
• ISSN: 1864-4031; 1864-404X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12076-025-00413-2

Whether inequality worsens or improves the environment is important problems because it allows us to judge if governments need to implement income redistribution policies when targeting sustainable development. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the environment, inequality, and economic growth in an R&D based growth model. Reducing grandfathered permits raises the growth rate, enhancing the home market effect. Thus, firms agglomerate across regions, and pollution and shares owned by households in one region overshadow the other. These results increase income inequality across regions. Our findings suggest that bias via leisure reduces the statistical significance of the pollution havens hypothesis.