The utilization of economic capabilities to raise production in the economy enhances the industrial activities and use of transportation. These activities deteriorate the quality of the environment and raise the level of particulate matter (PM2.5). The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of economic capabilities and population agglomeration on PM2.5 emissions for the sample of 23 sub-Saharan African countries-a highly polluted region of the world. The study used panel regression from 2007 to 2015 and found that production capabilities are highly significant and directly effecting PM2.5 emissions. The Kuznets hypothesis does not hold in this region, and the concentration of population in urban areas is also significant. To avoid the problem of possible endogeneity in the empirical model and for robustness check, the study also utilized system GMM and found consistent results. The findings of the study are highly valuable to reduce PM2.5 and propose that the policymakers in Sub-Saharan African countries should opt for industrial specialization rather than economic complexity and ensure that the proper measures are taken to control PM2.5. Moreover, population concentrations should not be taken place in a few main urban cities.

中文翻译：

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经济能力和人口集聚对 PM2.5 排放的影响：来自撒哈拉以南非洲国家的经验证据。

利用经济能力来提高经济中的产量会促进工业活动和交通运输的使用。这些活动会恶化环境质量并提高颗粒物 (PM2.5) 的水平。本研究的目的是调查经济能力和人口集聚对 23 个撒哈拉以南非洲国家（世界上污染严重的地区）样本的 PM2.5 排放的影响。该研究使用了 2007 年至 2015 年的面板回归，发现生产能力非常重要并且直接影响 PM2.5 排放。库兹涅茨假设在该地区不成立，城市地区人口集中度也显着。为了避免经验模型中可能存在的内生性问题和稳健性检验，该研究还利用了系统 GMM 并发现了一致的结果。该研究的结果对于减少 PM2.5 非常有价值，并建议撒哈拉以南非洲国家的政策制定者应选择工业专业化而不是经济复杂化，并确保采取适当措施控制 PM2.5。此外，人口集中不应发生在少数主要城市。