Three essays on environmental degradation and economic growth in Indonesia

Rapid economic growth over the last twenty years has led to widespread environmental degradation in developing countries. This thesis explores the relationship between growth and the environment with a focus on rapidly developing countries in particular Indonesia. The first paper is a critical review of the application of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) to developing countries where the global pollutant CO2 is the measure of environmental degradation. The second paper is a regional analysis of local air pollution in Indonesia. The third paper concerns the effectiveness of Indonesian local environmental policy in reducing deforestation and, therefore, forest fires.