An Empirical Investigation of Environmental Kuznets Curve in Nigeria

The possibility of the existence of environmental Kuznet curve (EKC) has been debated extensively in the literature. The reality of EKC is that, by pursuing growth in income, environmental objectives can be simultaneously accomplished without initiating extra intervention tools. Various studies have been conducted on the existence of EKC without any consensus. Therefore, in this paper, the author analyzes whether or not EKC exists and its shape. In this study, the author uses an explanatory variable to in the model, which is population density, showing the level of resilience of the environment to pollution. However, this research found that at the lower stage of income, environmental degradation declined with income growth, rises as income grew further, then declined. However, income did not contribute significantly toward the explanation of environmental degradation like population density. This research found no synergies between addressing poverty and environmental problems in Nigeria. Therefore, complementary environmental policies must be put in place when addressing poverty. Lastly, there are different shapes of the relationship between income growth and various measures of pollution and environmental degradation, and developing countries must recognize that no one size fits all in this relationship.