The Role of International Trade in the Relationship between Income and Environmental Quality

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) suggests that environmental quality improves with income after the economy passes an income threshold. Many studies have examined the EKC but the results are mixed. This study Investigates how international trade has affected the EKC’s position. The study uses the ecological footprint, as an indicator of environmental degradation, in 149 countries divided into four income groups for the period 1980-2014. From the panel model estimations, the results confirm an inverted U-shape relationship between the ecological footprint and income. Furthermore, they indicate that trade has altered the position of the EKC, in the entire sample. However, the results vary across income groups. Specifically, the EKC has been shifted by trade upwards in upper-income boundaries. The lower-income countries have not reached the income threshold suggested by the EKC and trade impact on the position of the EKC has not been significant. In this case, it can be inferred that trade worsens environmental degradation.