Environmental quality, economic growth and population density: A panel study in Indonesia

Environmental quality is one of the topics that is widely discussed. The environmental quality degradation such as increasing greenhouse gases will induce climate change that will affect many sectors. This study aims to estimate the determinants of environmental quality in 33 provinces in Indonesia from 2016 to 2022. The data was generated from Ministry of Environment and Forestry and Statistics Indonesia. Many studies observe the determinant of environmental quality or its relationship with economy and population. However, the results are still varied. This study fills the gap by utilizing the Environmental Quality Index (EQI) as the proxy of environmental quality while most studies in Indonesia use CO2. Economic growth, human development index, population density, and forest coverage are treated as independent variable. This study employs the Fixed-Effects model in estimating the data. The results revealed that the human development index positively and significantly affects the environmental quality index. Meanwhile, it is found that population density affects The Environmental Quality Index (EQI) negatively. Policymakers can construct policies in sustainable development such as building more extensive green space, restricting land use, and increasing human development to keep the environmental quality better.