Pollution and Development: An Integrated Framework for Analyzing Empirical Evidence

Abstract

Pollution and development seem to have been inextricably linked throughout human history. Yet the relationship between environmental harm and 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-development 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 development. This paper develops such a framework with five key areas of research inquiry that can be connected with each other through theoretical nodes. The existing empirical evidence in the literature is presented in this framework which has potential for giving policy-makers in developing countries greater clarity in their decision-making around abatement of environmental harms.