Environmental management decisions based on Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis: A case study of the less developed regions in China

Different environmental management policies should be adopted in different stages, which can be recognized after studying the relationship between economic development and environmental damage. Economic development and environmental damage are associated, but the relationship is neither linear nor even monotonic. In the last few years, many studies have found an inverted-U relationship between per capita income and environmental degradation, which is known as the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). This paper uses panel data in China on industrial waste gas emission, industrial waste water discharged and industrial waste solid discharged for the period 1996-2005 to test the relationship between per capita income and environmental pollution. The results are compared with the EKC hypothesis. Accordingly, some environmental management implications are given to coordinate the economic development and environmental protection in China.