Neoclassical Growth, Environment and Technological Change: The Environmental Kuznets Curve
Abstract
The paper investigates socially optimal patterns of economic growth and environmental quality in a neoclassical growth model with endogenous technological progress. In the model, the environmental quality affects positively not only to utility but also to production. However, cleaner technologies can be used in the economy whether a part of the output is used in environmentally oriented R&D. In this framework, if the initial level of capital is low then the shadow price of a cleaner technology is low relative to the cost of developing it given by the marginal utility of consumption and it is not worth investing in R&D. Thus, there will be a first stage of growth based only on the accumulation of capital with a decreasing environmental quality until the moment that pollution is great enough to make profitable the investment in R&D. After this turning point, if the new technologies are efficient enough, the economy can evolve along a balanced growth path with an increasing environmental quality. The result is that the optimal investment pattern supports an environmental Kuznets curve.Download Info
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Paper provided by Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei in its series Working Papers with number 2009.125.
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Date of creation: Dec 2009
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Handle: RePEc:fem:femwpa:2009.125
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Related research
Keywords: Neoclassical Growth Model; Endogenous Technological Progress; External Effects; Environmental Kuznets Curve;Other versions of this item:
- Santiago J. Rubio, Jose L. Garcia and Jose L. Hueso, 2009. "Neoclassical Growth, Environment and Technological Change: The Environmental Kuznets Curve," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 30(Special I), pages 143-168.
- O33 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change; Research and Development; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
- O41 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models
- Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
- Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-AGR-2010-01-16 (Agricultural Economics)
- NEP-ALL-2010-01-16 (All new papers)
- NEP-DGE-2010-01-16 (Dynamic General Equilibrium)
- NEP-ENE-2010-01-16 (Energy Economics)
- NEP-ENV-2010-01-16 (Environmental Economics)
- NEP-FDG-2010-01-16 (Financial Development & Growth)
References
References listed on IDEASPlease report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Carlo Orecchia & Maria Elisabetta Tessitore, 2011. "Economic Growth and the Environment with Clean and Dirty Consumption," Working Papers 2011.57, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
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