What is the Purpose of the Environmental Kuznets Curve in Economics?

The Kuznets Curve is an economic hypothesis that describes the relationship between economic development and environmental degradation. Named after economist Simon Kuznets, it suggests that as an economy develops, environmental degradation first increases and then decreases, forming an inverted U-shaped curve when plotted on a graph.

Additionally, the y-axis component can also be replaced with income inequality. This has the same effect as environmental degradation; as an economy develops, income inequality first increases and then decreases.

As displayed by the image above, the Kuznets Curve provides a framework to understand how income distribution and environmental degradation might change as countries develop economically. It emphasises that economic growth does not uniformly benefit all segments of society in the short term but may eventually lead to a more equitable distribution of income/decreased environmental degradation.