Economic Development and the Environment: Revisiting Ecological Modernization Theory and the Environmental Kuznets Curve, 1990–2020

Steven A. Mejia

Social Science Quarterly, 2026, vol. 107, issue 3

Abstract: Objective This analysis provides new cross‐national evidence to bear on longstanding theoretical tensions between treadmill of production theory and ecological modernization theory/environmental Kuznets curve over the economic development–environment relationship. Methods I adjudicate between these competing theories using fixed effects panel regression models. Results Statistical analyses support ecological modernization theory and the environmental Kuznets curve. Carbon emissions rise with economic development up to about US$43,700 GDP per capita, after which they begin to decline. Conclusion I conclude the analysis with a discussion of the practical implications of the observed statistical relationships for the literature and climate change policy.

Date: 2026
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