Relationship between economic growth and e-waste: Panel data evidence from 11 Latin American countries

Abstract

This document aims to analyze the relationship between economic growth and the generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) for 11 Latin American countries during the period 2009-2019. Theoretically, it is intended to evaluate compliance with the postulates of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (ECK). The econometric strategy consisted of a basic regression model with panel data and the Feasible Generalized Least Squares model. Our findings provided strong support for the inverted-U relationship between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and WEEE per capita in the 11 Latin American countries. E-waste generation initially increases with increasing GDP, but when GDP reaches a certain level of growth (tipping point), the amounts of e-waste generated no longer increase despite higher economic growth. Our results serve as input to propose policies that consider environmental problems on the agendas of the countries, specifically those related to waste generation. Expanding waste collection that can achieve high e-waste recycling rates is a pending task for policymakers.