Kuznets curve

The Kuznets curve is the graphical representation of the discovered by Simon Smith Kuznets empirical relationship between economic growth and inequality in income distribution. It says that economic inequality during the development of a country first increases and then decreases.

Explanations

The self advanced by Kuznets explanation is based on an economy that is evolving from agricultural embossing to the industrialized society. Initially, all workers are employed in agriculture and have about the same income. With the beginning of industrialization draw workers into the cities, where they receive higher wages, so that the income distribution of the population as a whole is unequal. In the course of industrialization, more and more people work in factories, so that the wages stabilize there or even fall. At the same time, labor supply scarce in agriculture, so that the income there rather increases. This is the distribution of income in total the same again. Viewed over time, a course of dissimilarity in the form of an inverted U.

Criticism

Until the 1970s, the Kuznets curve was a relatively non-controversial context. In the 1980s and 1990s, however, the inequality rose in the OECD countries again.

Numerous scientific studies refute since audited Kuznets context.

Environmental Kuznets curve

The environmental Kuznets curve (often also English Environmental Kuznets Curve, EKC short ) is a hypothesis of environmental economics on the relationship between per capita income of a country and the degree of pollution. It says that the emissions of different environmental pollutants increase in a developing economy initially up to a peak and then decrease again with further increasing per capita income. Similarly, the actual Kuznets curve so EKC has also the shape of an inverted U.

Possible explanations are put forward mainly:

  • Increasing income shifting preferences of people towards non -economic aspects, such as a cleaner environment;
  • The development of a country from a relatively clean agricultural economics over a strongly polluting industrial society towards a re relatively environmentally friendly service society; spoken environmental economics superimpose the effects of a technology services company in the economies of scale of a Take-Off Society
  • Effects of international trade, such as the relocation of polluting industries to less developed countries,
  • The establishment of new markets for natural resources in more developed countries and an associated pricing of natural resources,
  • One associated with economic growth effective regulation,
  • Recent ideas looking for holistic approaches that cover all areas of social development: Increased financial scope of the State in the course of economic development lead to the increase of environmental capacity, ie the creation of environmentally relevant institutions that promote both social awareness of environmental issues and an economic environment, environmentally friendly technologies bring.

Numerous studies have investigated the presence of an EKC for different pollutants and countries. The results are very different and only partially confirm the presumed curve. Thus, the EKC has been confirmed for some air pollutants directly affect the health, but not for greenhouse gas emissions. Similar results exist for other environmental indicators, such as waste, access to sanitation or energy consumption: The EKC is found sooner if emissions are directly harmful, but not when mainly externalized damage. For individual aquatic pollutants environmental pollution had an N- shaped curve: After reaching a low point, she took with further increasing per capita income again. There is also evidence that some developing countries adopt environmental standards faster than developed countries and even surpass.

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