摘要：The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) describes a hypothesized "inverted U" relationship between an environmental pollutant and per capita income (Seldon and Song 1994). An EKC for some measure of environmental degradation or pollution will initially show a positive relationship with per capita income, but past some turning point increases in per capita income are associated with decreasing environmental degradation or pollution. Issues surrounding the EKC include the potential path dependence of economic development, the absolute level versus the distribution of economic welfare, the distribution of claims to the natural resource base of a nation or region, and the distribution of the benefits gained from the use of those resources.
