Economic growth and the environment: reassessing the environmental Kuznets Curve for air pollution emissions in OECD countries

This paper tests the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for four local (SOx, NOx, CO, VOC) and two global (CO2, GHG) air pollutants. Using a panel data set of thirty OECD countries, the paper finds that the postulated inverted U-shaped relationship between income and pollution does not hold for all gases. A meaningful EKC exists only for CO, VOC and NOx, where for CO2 the curve is monotonically increasing. For GHG there is indication of EKC, but most countries are still on the increasing path of the curve. SOxemissions follow a U-shaped curve. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.