Empirical Study of the Environmental Kuznets Curve in China Based on Provincial Panel Data

Jun Yan (), Wenting Lu, Xiaoyan Xu and Jiamin Lian
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Jun Yan: School of Finance & Economics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Wenting Lu: School of Finance & Economics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Xiaoyan Xu: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Suzhou 215000, China
Jiamin Lian: School of Finance & Economics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-11

Abstract: The Environmental Kuznets Curve is a key indicator to measure the relationship between the environmental pollution level and economic development. Considering that China’s economic development is a superposing process of multiple industrial technologies, in order to restore the classical Environmental Kuznets Curve estimation as much as possible, this paper selects the data of six types of pollutants between provinces (except Tibet) in China during 2011–2017 to construct a comprehensive environmental pollution degree indicator, which is more objective than the single indicator in traditional research; estimates the Environmental Kuznets Curve with per capita disposable income; and then conducts a panel regression analysis based on the econometric model. Research shows that the relationship between comprehensive environmental pollution and economic development basically presents an inverted U-shape, which is consistent with the basic characteristics of the traditional Environmental Kuznets Curve, and the inflection point of the curve is 34,243.2 in RMB. Finally, according to the results, effective suggestions are put forward to correctly handle the relationship between economic development and environmental governance and optimize the path of environmental governance in China.

Keywords: environmental pollution level; per person disposable income; provincial panel data; Environmental Kuznets Curve (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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