 Evidence of the Environmental Kuznets’ Curve among US Counties and the Impact of Social CapitalAshleigh Keene and Steven Deller () International Regional Science Review, 2015, vol. 38, issue 4, 358-387 Abstract: In this applied study, we use US county data to examine patterns in fine particulates (also called fine particulate matter or PM 2.5 ) ambient concentrations as a measure of air pollution within the framework of the environmental Kuznets’ curve (EKC). We pay particular attention to the role of social capital and notions of ruralness. Consistent with expectations, we find that peak of the EKC ranges between US$24,000 and US$25,500 for PM 2.5 concentrations depending on the estimator used. Also consistent with expectations, higher levels of social capital places downward pressure on PM 2.5 concentrations, but that effect is weaker in more rural areas. The implication is that the promotion of economic growth may harm the environment at lower levels of income but will improve the environment as income continues to grow. Keywords: environment; natural resources; policy and applications; economic growth and development; other urban and regional issues; urban and regional issues; other urban and regional spatial structure; urban and regional spatial structure; spatial structure; miscellaneous spatial structure; other spatial structure (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:38:y:2015:i:4:p:358-387 Access Statistics for this article More articles in International Regional Science Review |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.