A Literature Survey of the Environmental Kuznets Curve

Abstract

Since the 1970s, the issue of environmental degradation has received considerable attention. Environmental Kuznets curve is one of the most well‐known hypotheses that explains the relationship between economic growth and environmental pollution. It represents an important model that enables policymakers to deliver quality information‐based decisions. In this paper, we provide the theoretical framework of the Environmental Kuznets curve and examine existing literature on the EKC hypothesis. The systematic literary survey includes studies conducted for single countries as well as for groups of countries. Most of the studies were empirically testing the existence of an inverted U‐shaped relationship between economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions. Due to the different periods, sets of independent variables and methodological frameworks, the results are inconclusive, which is consistent with previous literature surveys on the same topic.

Keywords

• environmental Kuznets Curve
• environmental degradation
• income
• economic growth
• CO2 emissions