Introduction to the environmental Kuznets curve special issue

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDWARD B. BARBIER

This special issue is concerned with environmental Kuznets curves (EKC) - the hypothesis that there is an ‘inverted-U’ relationship between various indicators of environmental degradation and levels of per capita income. Explanations as to why environmental degradation should first increase then decline with income have focused on a number of underlying relationships, including:the effects of structural economic change on the use of the environment for resource inputs and to assimilate waste;the link between the demand for environmental quality and income;types of environmental degradation and ecological processes.

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDWARD B. BARBIER

This short piece introduces the special issue on environmental Kuznets curves (EKC) — the hypothesized 'inverted-U' relationship between levels of environmental degradation and per capita income. Although the analysis of EKC relationships has been a relatively recent phenomenon, there is widespread interest on the part of academics in this analysis, and on the part of policymakers in the resulting implications for environment and development. The following introduction outlines the contributions to EKC analysis of the papers comprising the special issue. This is done in two ways: first, the empirical results of the special issue papers are compared with previous analyses of the EKC relationships; and second, the additional insights offered by the special issue papers on EKCs are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisreen Moosa ◽  

Environmental degradation (measured, for example) by CO2 emissions has an adverse effect on public health, leading to the need for a higher level of healthcare expenditure. The level of per capita income, which has been identified as a major determinant of healthcare expenditure, is associated with environmental degradation as represented by the environmental Kuznets curve. The results presented in this study show that when a country, like Australia, falls on the declining sector of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), healthcare expenditure is negatively related to environmental degradation. Although this proposition sounds counterintuitive, it is justified theoretically and supported empirically.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suleyman Yurtkuran

Abstract This study aims to investigate the dynamic relationship between income, clean energy consumption, exports, imports, urbanization and ecological footprint for Turkey from 1973 to 2015 using the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. The long-term coefficients derived from the ARDL approach demonstrate that import increase the ecological footprint, whereas urbanization and clean energy consumption do not have an impact on environmental pollution in the long-term. In addition, the 2001 dummy variable is negative and statistically significant. The crisis in 2001 slowed down the economic growth rate. This situation also caused reduction of environmental pollution. Moreover, the long run estimates indicate that the EKC hypothesis is valid in Turkey. However, the turning point of per capita income was calculated as $16,045 that outside of the analyzed period. As economic activities increase, human pressure on nature continues to increase. Consequently, the only factor that reduces the ecological footprint has been determined as exports. In contrast, economic growth and clean energy consumption cannot be used as a tool to reduce the ecological footprint. Turkey needs a higher level of per capita income than the threshold level to improve environmental quality.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 444-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caner Demir ◽  
Raif Cergibozan ◽  
Adem Gök

The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of income inequality on environmental quality in Turkey within the Environmental Kuznets Curve framework. In order to observe the short-run and long-run effects of income inequality on environmental quality, an autoregressive distributed lag bounds test on CO2 emission has been employed for the period 1963–2011 of Turkey. The results of the analysis reveal that there is a negative association between CO2 emission level and income inequality, which implies that increasing income inequality reduces environmental degradation in Turkey. Hence, a greater inequality in the society leads to less aggregate consumption in the economy due to lower propensity to emit in the richer households resulting in better environmental quality. The findings confirm an argument in the existing literature, which suggests that for developing countries, until a certain level of development, environmental degradation increases as income inequality in the society decreases. The results also confirm the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis.


2000 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Therese A. Cavlovic ◽  
Kenneth H. Baker ◽  
Robert P. Berrens ◽  
Kishore Gawande

An understanding of the empirical relationship between income and environmental quality is evolving through recent studies investigating the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). The EKC represents an inverted-U relationship between income and environmental degradation. However, studies may employ different methods, evaluate different environmental indicators, and use different data, resulting in a broad spectrum of findings and leading to sometimes conflicting interpretations. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the results of existing EKC findings by conducting a statistical meta-analysis, and to predict new income turning points (ITP). Results indicate how both methodological choices and pollutant types affect ITPs. (JEL Q20).


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 09021
Author(s):  
Citrasmara Galuh Nuansa ◽  
Wahyu Widodo

Sustainable development with three main pillars, namely environmental, economic, and social, is the concept of country’s development to achieve inclusive economic growth, good environmental quality, and improvement of people's welfare. However, the dominance of economic factors cause various environmental problem. This phenomenon occurs in most of developing countries, including in Indonesia. The relationship between economic activity and environmental quality has been widely discussed and empirically tested by scholars. This descriptive research analysed the hypothesis called Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) from a perspective of sustainable development in Indonesia. EKC hypothesis illustrates the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation forming an inverted U-curve, indicating that at the beginning of development, environmental quality will decrease along with increasing economic growth, and then reached a certain point the environmental quality will gradually improve. In this paper will be discussed how the relationship between environmental quality and economic growth in Indonesia was investigated. The preliminary results show that most of the empirical studies use the conventional approach, in which the CO2 emission used as the proxy of environmental degradation. The existence of inverted U-curve is also inconclusive. Therefore, the extension research on the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality in Indonesia using the EKC hypothesis is required.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanon Kumar Sen ◽  
Md. Thasinul Abedin

PurposeDue to large amounts of coal burning, huge carbon dioxide emission and poor environmental quality, it is important to identify whether environmental Kuznets curve exists in China and India since in downward period of environmental Kuznets curve, economic growth in these countries will largely contribute to world environmental quality. Further, it helps to make a comparative analysis between China and India on how economic growth will contribute to the environmental quality in both upward and downward period of environmental Kuznets curve due to energy consumption.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the data of carbon dioxide emission, per capita GDP and energy consumption from 1972 to 2017 to identify individual and panel-level environmental Kuznets curve of China and India. Before going to regression and causality analysis, unit root and cointegration tests are performed.FindingsThis study finds the existence of environmental Kuznets curve in China and India at both individual and panel level. Further, due to high energy consumption, environmental quality in China will deteriorate at a lower rate in the long run than that of India. Next, the increase in economic growth or per capita GDP in the long run will deteriorate environmental quality at a lower rate in China than that of India. Besides, with the zero level of energy consumption and per capita GDP, the environmental quality of China will be worse than that of India. However, increase in per capita GDP after threshold level will improve environmental quality in India at a higher rate than that of China.Research limitations/implicationsIt helps to formalize the comparative relationship between the two large Asian economies by knowing the influence of economic growth on environmental degradation due to energy consumption. However, this study cannot conclude exactly when China and India can avail the downturn in environmental Kuznets curve.Originality/valueIt firstly establishes a link among energy consumption, economic growth and environmental quality between China and India including comparative pace in both upward and downward period of environmental Kuznets curve.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1501-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Baiardi

Abstract The paper explores the relationship between per capita income and three air pollutants, CO, NMVOCs, and SOx, using a novel dataset based on the 20 regions of Italy. Given the central role of technological progress in long-term environmental problems, we empirically investigate the influence of innovation on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). The estimation results validate the existence of an EKC for the three air pollutants considered. Furthermore, the influence of innovation on the inverse-U-shaped curve identified by the theoretical literature is in general empirically confirmed. Finally, the same conclusions also hold when using another dataset related to the aggregate national economy rather than separate regions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 609-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Asghari

Recent empirical research has examined the relationship between certain indicators of environmental degradation and income, concluding that in some cases an inverted U-shaped relationship, which has been called an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), exists between these variables. The source of growth explanation is important for two reasons. First, it demonstrates how the pollution consequences of growth depend on the source of growth. Therefore, the analogy drawn by some in the environmental community between the damaging effects of economic development and those of liberalized trade is, at best, incomplete. Second, the source of growth explanation demonstrates that a strong policy response to income gains is not necessary for pollution to fall with growth. The aim of this paper investigates the role of differences source of growth in environmental quality of Iran. The results show the two growth resources in Iran cause, in the early stages, CO2 emission decreases until turning point but beyond this level of income per capita, economic growth leads to environmental degradation. I find a U relationship between environmental degradation (CO2 emission) and economic growth in Iran.


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