According to the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis (EKC), an inverted U-curve relationship exists between indicators of environmental degradation and levels of income per capita. This in turn has been taken to imply that economic growth will eventually reduce environmental impacts associated with the early stages of economic development. This paper discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the EKC hypothesis and reviews many of the empirical studies which have used econometric methodology to investigate EKC relationships. The available evidence indicates that a number of other factors affect or modify the income-environment relationship, and that the EKC logic applies only in a limited number of cases.
