Pollution and economic development: An empirical research review

Abstract

Pollution and the economy seem to have been inextricably linked throughout human history. Yet the relationship between environmental harm and economic development is complex and its understanding has been fragmented by disciplinary biases. Economists and environmental scientists have diverged on the urgency of abatement mechanisms and the marginal returns on investment on control technologies and social adaptations. The Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis has dominated this discourse, but is only one part of a broader pollution-economy nexus. As we consider a societal shift towards a circular economy, there is a need to consider a more integrated framework for analyzing the empirical evidence that connects pollution and economic development, and its implications for human well-being and the achievement of the sustainable development goals. This paper develops the main connections between pollution and economic development by reviewing the existing empirical evidence in the literature.