Inequality and the environmental Kuznets curve

Is income inequality harmful to the environment? The answer to this question has not reached a consensus in the literature. This study seeks to provide insight into this question by examining the influence of income inequality on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), i.e., the impact of income inequality on the EKC turning point. Two potential mechanisms through which inequality may affect the EKC turning point: by reducing public demand for environmental protection and by increasing a power of capital owners to prevent such protection. Using a large sample (N = 170-174) of countries, we find evidence of the EKC for SO2 emissions and income inequality has a significant impact on the EKC turning point. Income inequality increases the EKC turning point, suggesting that high inequality can be damaging to the environment. The results are robust to potential outliers, different data sources of income inequality, a different SO2 emissions measure, changes in model specification, different samples and an alternative estimation method. We also find that inequality appears to be more important than corruption in determining the EKC turning point. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.