ABSTRACT
Using new international data, this paper tests the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for industrial water pollution. We measure the effect of income growth on three determinants of pollution: the share of industry in national output, the share of polluting sectors in industrial output, and “end-of-pipe” (EOP) pollution intensities (per unit of output) in the polluting sectors. We find that the industry share of national output follows a Kuznets-type trajectory, but the other two determinants do not. When combined, our results imply rejection of the EKC hypothesis for industrial water pollution: it rises rapidly through middle-income status and remains roughly constant thereafter.
