ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE QUALITY
OF THE ENVIRONMENT: TAKING STOCK |
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Authors: | MARZIO GALEOTTI |
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Institution: | (1) University of Milan and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Corso Magenta 63, I-20123 Milano, Italy |
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Abstract: | There is a long-standing debate on the relationship between economic development and environmental quality. From a sustainable
development viewpoint there has been a growing concern that the economic expansion of the world economy will cause irreparable
damage to our planet. In the last few years several studies have appeared dealing with the relationship between the scale
of economic activity and the level of pollution. In particular, if we concentrate on local pollutants many empirical contributions
have identified a bell-shaped curve linking per capita pollution to per capita GDP (in the case of global pollutants like
CO2 the evidence is less clear-cut). This behavior implies that, starting from low per capita income levels, per capita emissions
or concentrations tend to increase but at a slower pace. After a certain level of income (which typically differs across pollutants)
– the “turning point” – pollution starts to decline as income further increases. In analogy with the historical relationship
between income distribution and income growth, the inverted-U relationship between per capita income and pollution has been
termed “Environmental Kuznets Curve”. The purpose of this paper is not to provide an overview the literature: there are several
survey papers around doing precisely that. We instead reconsider the explanations that have been put forth for its inverted-U
pattern. We consider the literature from this perspective. In addition, without resorting to any econometric estimation, we
consider whether simple data analysis can help to shed some light on the motives that can rationalize the Environmental Kuznets
Curve.
This paper is part of the research work being carried out by the Climate Change Modelling and Policy Unit at Fondazione Eni
Enrico Mattei and has been prepared for the 2004–2005 ESRI Collaboration Project. The author is grateful to Nicola Cantore
for skillful assistance. |
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Keywords: | enviornmental quality economic growth development |
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