Evolution of romania’s economic structure and environment degradation – an assessment through lmdi decomposition approach

Abstract

Purpose: This paper studies the relationships between air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, N2 O) and different diseases (tumors, skin and respiratory) and the factors influencing air pollutant emissions in Romania. Methods: The methods are Toda-Yamamoto procedure of non-causality Granger test, grey relational analysis and logarithmic mean Divisia index method (LMDI). Results: Air pollutants intensities dropped significantly over 2008–2017 period due to structural changes. The only economic activity that showed an increase both in volume and intensity of air pollutants, despite a downward trend of farming activities output is agriculture. Technology improvements play a significant role in mitigation of PM2.5 emissions and a moderate role in mitigation of PM10 emissions. For N2 O emissions technology used contributed to an increase of N2O intensities. Conclusion: Health policy makers should address the issue of technology improvements and mitigation of agriculture emissions to improve health of individuals and air quality.