ABSTRACT
Several investigations have been conducted to disclose the relationship between environmental degradation, economic growth, technology advancement, and political and institutional factors (Kuznets, 1955; Grossman and Krueger, 1995; Jordan, 2010). For instance, according to B.R. Jordan (2010), the following equation has been introduced:
Impact = Population × Afuence × Technology
On the basis of this equation, the environmental impact (negative) increases proportionally with an income per capita (afuence) increment. However, there are aspects not seen in the above equation such as the fact that economic growth does not always correlate with environmental degradation. It is also possible that technological improvement reduces negative impacts from population and economic growth. Given the complexity of solving a multivariable equation between the environment and various affecting determinants, one approach is to consider the relationship between two selected variables and investigate the effect of others on the mentioned link. A useful contribution in this direction was Grossman and Krueger’s (1995) work focusing on the relationship between environmental degradation and economic growth represented by income per capita (gross domestic production [GDP]) trends. The result was named an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) after the name of Simon Kuznets (1955), who rst used this approach to focus on the relationship between national income per capita and inequality (Kuznets curve [KC]). The EKC is an extension of the KC concept.
