Economic growth and the diffusion of clean technologies: Explaining environmental Kuznets curves
Smulders,Sjak A. Bretschger,L. Egli,H.
Smulders,Sjak A.
Bretschger,L.
Egli,H.
Abstract
The paper provides a theoretical explanation for the inverted U-shaped relation between pollution and income often found in empirical research (Environmental Kuznets Curve). We model the transition in the pollution pattern as a change in general purpose technologies and investigate how it interferes with economic growth driven by quality improvements. We provide an analytical foundation for the claim that the rise and decline of pollution can be explained by endogenous innovations, policy-induced technology shifts, and intrasectoral changes. Once environmental degradation becomes too severe, regulation is introduced by which society forces the economy to make a transition to cleaner production.
Description
Date
2011
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
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Journal Issue
Keywords
SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
Citation
Smulders, S A, Bretschger, L & Egli, H 2011, 'Economic growth and the diffusion of clean technologies : Explaining environmental Kuznets curves', Environmental & Resource Economics, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 79-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-010-9425-y