What is the environmental Kuznet curve?

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis explains an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation (Figure 1), i.e., environmental pressure increases in the early stages of economic growth due to the increased release of pollutants and the extensive and intensive …

What is the main message of the environmental Kuznets curve?

Definition: The environmental Kuznets curve suggests that economic development initially leads to a deterioration in the environment, but after a certain level of economic growth, a society begins to improve its relationship with the environment and levels of environmental degradation reduces.

Is the environmental Kuznets curve true?

The reality Thankfully, there have been a multitude of studies which do just this. The major flaw in the EKC which the literature reveals is that it assumes all pollutants will behave in generally the same way in relation to income. However, empirical studies have revealed that this is not the case.

Why is environmental Kuznets curve important?

The Environmental Kuznets Curve is used to graph the idea that as an economy develops, market forces begin to increase and economic inequality decreases. More specifically that as the economy grows, initially the environment suffers but eventually the relationship between the environment and the society improves.

How does the Kuznets curve affect the environment?

Environmental Kuznets curve. The environmental Kuznets curve suggests that economic development initially leads to a deterioration in the environment, but after a certain level of economic growth, a society begins to improve its relationship with the environment and levels of environmental degradation reduces.

What did Grossman and Krueger discover about the Kuznets curve?

The Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis attracted significant much attention in the nineties after the seminal work of Grossman and Krueger (1991) revealed that environmental deterioration and income per capita follow an inversed-U shaped relationship hypothesized by Kuznets (1955).

How is the Kuznets curve related to income inequality?

The Kuznets curve hypothesis stems from the initial work of Kuznets (1955) who revealed an inversed-U shaped relationship between income per capita and income inequality. As income per capita increases at the initial stages, income inequality follows the same path but begins to decline after reaching a turning point.

Are there any non monotonic patterns in Kuznets curve?

But, non-monotonic patterns may be more probable in other cases and two types have been recommended, namely inverted-U and N-shaped curves. The pattern discovered in experiential research depend on the types of pollutants scrutinised and the models that have been used for inference.