Abstract
This study aims to provide a detailed overview of environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis using bibliometric analysis for the Web of Science (WOS) database. Our analysis provides an overview of research trends, journals and most influential authors. China has contributed the most scientific publications; followed by the USA, Turkey, and Pakistan. Muhammad Shahbaz, Beijing Institute of Technology, and Environmental Science and Pollution Research are the most productive author, research institute, and research journal in EKC publications. Trend analysis of researchers, academic and country-level, reveal that publications in the environmental Kuznets curve have upward trend; also, cocitation analysis indicates that EKC publications are closely related. “Economic growth and income inequality” (1955) by Simon Kuznets is considered to be the basic literature, and “environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis: A Survey” by Dinda (2004) is the most cited research article in the literature. Keywords and abstracts analysis further reveals that carbon emissions, renewable energy, energy consumption, economic growth, and sustainable development are the hot topics in current literature. We propose that joint research projects between industrial and emerging economies will promote research activities.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.References
Abolhosseini S, Heshmati A (2014) (2014). The main support mechanisms to finance renewable energy development. Renew Sust Energ Rev 40:876–885
Ahmed K, Long W (2012) Environmental Kuznets curve and Pakistan: an empirical analysis. Proced Econ and Financ 1:4–13
Aimin Z (2008) The cluster analysis of co-occurrence strength in the field of knowledge management in 2006. Modern Inform 28(5):30–33
Ali W, Abdullah A, Azam M (2016) The dynamic linkage between technological innovation and carbon dioxide emissions in Malaysia: an autoregressive distributed lagged bound approach. Int J Energy Econ Policy 6(3):389–400
Allard A, Takman J, Uddin GS, Ahmed A (2018) The N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve: an empirical evaluation using a panel quantile regression approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25(6):5848–5861
Al-Mulali U (2014) Investigating the impact of nuclear energy consumption on GDP growth and CO2 emission: A panel data analysis. Prog Nucl Energy 73:172–178
Al-Mulali U, Saboori B, Ozturk I (2015) Investigating the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Vietnam. Energy Policy 76:123–131
Anderson K (2015) Duality in climate science. Nat Geosci 8(12):898
Antal M, Van Den Bergh JC (2016) Green growth and climate change: conceptual and empirical considerations. Clim Pol 16(2):165–177
Apergis N, Payne JE (2009) CO2 emissions, energy usage, and output in Central America. Energy Policy 37(8):3282–3286
Apergis N, Ozturk I (2015) Testing environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Asian countries. Ecol Indic 52:16–22
Bank, W (2012) Inclusive green growth: the pathway to sustainable development. World Bank Publications
Bashir MF, MA B, Bilal, Komal B, Bashir MA (2021) Analysis of environmental taxes publications: a bibliometric and systematic literature review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12123-x
Bashir MF, Ma B, Shahzad L, Liu B, Ruan Q (2020a) China's quest for economic dominance and energy consumption: can Asian economies provide natural resources for the success of One Belt One Road? Manag Decis Econ. https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.3255
Bashir MF, Ma B, Shahbaz M, Jiao Z (2020b) The nexus between environmental tax and carbon emissions with the roles of environmental technology and financial development. PLoS One 15(11):e0242412. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242412
Bashir MF, Shahzad U, Latif S, Bashir M (2015) The nexus between economic indicators and economic growth in Brazil. Nexus 13(1)
Bobicki ER, Liu Q, Xu Z, Zeng H (2012) Carbon capture and storage using alkaline industrial wastes. Prog Energy Combust Sci 38(2):302–320
Callon M, Courtial JP, Laville F (1991) Co-word analysis as a tool for describing the network of interactions between basic and technological research: The case of polymer chemsitry. Scientometrics 22(1):155–205
Chen L, Zhao X, Tang O, Price L, Zhang S (2017) Supply chain collaboration for sustainability: a literature review and future research agenda. Int J Prod Econ 194:73–87
Cheng C, Ren X, Wang Z, Yan C (2019) Heterogeneous impacts of renewable energy and environmental patents on CO2 emission—evidence from the BRIICS. Sci Total Environ 668:1328–1338
Cheng Z, Li L, Liu J (2017) The emissions reduction effect and technical progress effect of environmental regulation policy tools. J Clean Prod 149:191–205
Cole MA (2004) Trade, the pollution haven hypothesis and the environmental Kuznets curve: examining the linkages. Ecol Econ 48(1):71–81
Cong RG (2013) An optimization model for renewable energy generation and its application in China: a perspective of maximum utilization. Renew Sust Energ Rev 17:94–103
Cong RG, Shen S (2014) How to develop renewable power in China? A cost-effective perspective. Sci World J
Cong RG, Wei YM (2010) Potential impact of (CET) carbon emissions trading on China’s power sector: a perspective from different allowance allocation options. Energy 35(9):3921–3931
Cong RG, Wei YM (2012) Experimental comparison of impact of auction format on carbon allowance market. Renew Sust Energ Rev 16(6):4148–4156
Costanza R, Kubiszewski I, Giovannini E, Lovins H (2014) Development: time to leave GDP behind. Nat News 505(7483):283
Daly HE (1991) Steady-state economics: with new essays. Island Press
Danish, Baloch MA, Mahmood N, Zhang JW (2019) Effect of natural resources, renewable energy and economic development on CO2 emissions in BRICS countries. Sci Total Environ 678:632–638
Dasgupta S, Laplante B, Wang H, Wheeler D (2002) Confronting the environmental Kuznets curve. J Econ Perspect 16(1):147–168
De Bakker FG, Groenewegen P, Den Hond F (2005) A bibliometric analysis of 30 years of research and theory on corporate social responsibility and corporate social performance. Bus Soc 44(3):283–317
Destek MA, Sarkodie SA (2019) Investigation of environmental Kuznets curve for ecological footprint: the role of energy and financial development. Sci Total Environ 650:2483–2489
Dinda S (2004) Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis: a survey. Ecol Econ 49(4):431–455
Dong K, Sun R, Dong X (2018a) CO2 emissions, natural gas and renewables, economic growth: assessing the evidence from China. Sci Total Environ 640:293–302
Dong K, Sun R, Jiang H, Zeng X (2018b) CO2 emissions, economic growth, and the environmental Kuznets curve in China: what roles can nuclear energy and renewable energy play? J Clean Prod 196:51–63
Douglas HE, Selden T (1995) Stoking the fires? CO2 emissions and economic growth. J Public Econ 57(1):85–101
Easterlin RA, McVey LA, Switek M, Sawangfa O, Zweig JS (2010) The happiness–income paradox revisited. Proc Natl Acad Sci 07(52):22463–22468
Field CB, Barros VR, Dokken DJ, Mach KJ, Mastrandrea MD, Bilir TE, White LL (2014) Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of working group II to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Friedl B, Getzner M (2003) Determinants of CO2 emissions in a small open economy. Ecol Econ 45(1):133–148
Gill AR, Viswanathan KK, Hassan S (2018) The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and the environmental problem of the day. Renew Sust Energ Rev 81:1636–1642
Gore A (2013) The future: six drivers of global change. Random House Incorporated
Grossman GM (1995) Pollution and growth: what do we know. Econ Sustain Dev 19:41
Grossman GM, Krueger AB (1991) Environmental impacts of a North American free trade agreement. National Bureau of Economic Research
Halicioglu F (2009) An econometric study of CO2 emissions, energy consumption, income and foreign trade in Turkey. Energy Policy 37(3):1156–1164
Hao XY, You SN, Shen XB, Lv XZ, Wang MY, Qian SC (2008) Current status and future development of impact factor. Acta Editol 5:463–465
Hao Y, Wu Y, Wang L, Huang J (2018) Re-examine environmental Kuznets curve in China: spatial estimations using environmental quality index. Sustain Cities Soc 42:498–511
He, Q. (1999). Knowledge discovery through co-word analysis.
Hirsch JE (2005) An index to quantify an individual's scientific research output. Proc Natl Acad Sci 102(46):16569–16572
Hussain M, Bashir MF, Shahzad U (2021) Do foreign direct investments help to bolster economic growth? New insights from Asian and Middle East economies. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development 17 (1):62–84. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-10-2019-0085
Jackson T (2009) Prosperity without growth: economics for a finite planet. Routledge
Jackson T (2011) Societal transformations for a sustainable economy. Nat Resour Forum 155–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-8947.2011.01395.x
Jalil A, Mahmud SF (2009) Environment Kuznets curve for CO2 emissions: a cointegration analysis for China. Energy Policy 37(12):5167–5172
Jebli MB, Youssef SB (2017) The role of renewable energy and agriculture in reducing CO2 emissions: Evidence for North Africa countries. Ecol Indic 74:295–301
Jebli MB, Youssef SB, Ozturk I (2016) Testing environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis: the role of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and trade in OECD countries. Ecol Indic 60:824–831
Kim W, Chattopadhyay D, Park JB (2010) Impact of carbon cost on wholesale electricity price: a note on price pass-through issues. Energy 35(8):3441–3448
Kubiszewski I, Costanza R, Franco C, Lawn P (2013) Beyond GDP: Measuring and achieving global genuine progress. Ecol Econ 93:57–68
Kuznets S (1955) Economic growth and income inequality. Am Econ Rev 45(1):1–28
Lan J, Malik A, Lenzen M, McBain D, Kanemoto K (2016) A structural decomposition analysis of global energy footprints. Appl Energy 163:436–451
Lau LS, Choong CK, Ng CF, Liew CF, Ching SL (2019) Is nuclear energy clean? Revisit of Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis in OECD countries. Econ Model 77:12–20
Lee CC, Chang CP (2008) Energy consumption and economic growth in Asian economies: a more comprehensive analysis using panel data. Resour Energy Econ 30(1):50–65
Lee JW (2013) The contribution of foreign direct investment to clean energy use, carbon emissions and economic growth. Energy Policy 55:483–489
Levin T, Thomas VM, Lee AJ (2011) State-scale evaluation of renewable electricity policy: The role of renewable electricity credits and carbon taxes. Energy Policy 39(2):950–960
Li L, Zhu QH (2008) An empirical study of coauthorship analysis using social network analysis [J]. Inf Sci 4(200)
Lijia ZW (2008) The research of co-word analysis (1) the process and methods of co-word analysis [J]. J Inform
Liu J (2004) An introduction to social network analysis. Social Sciences Academic Press, Beijing
Liu K, Lin B (2019) Research on influencing factors of environmental pollution in China: a spatial econometric analysis. J Clean Prod 206:356–364
Liu Y, Lu Y (2015) The economic impact of different carbon tax revenue recycling schemes in China: a model-based scenario analysis. Appl Energy 141:96–105
Mao G, Liu X, Du H, Zuo J, Wang L (2015) Way forward for alternative energy research: a bibliometric analysis during 1994–2013. Renew Sust Energ Rev 48:276–286
Martínez-Zarzoso I, Bengochea-Morancho A (2004) Pooled mean group estimation of an environmental Kuznets curve for CO2. Econ Lett 82(1):121–126
Meadows DH, Meadows DL, Randers J (1972) Limits to growth: a report for the club of Rome's project on the predicament of mankind universe books. New York City
Mishan EJ (1967) The costs of economic growth. Staples Press London
Munasinghe M (1993) Environmental economics and sustainable development. The World Bank
Nassani AA, Aldakhil AM, Abro MMQ, Zaman K (2017) Environmental Kuznets curve among BRICS countries: spot lightening finance, transport, energy and growth factors. J Clean Prod 154:474–487
Özokcu S, Özdemir Ö (2017) Economic growth, energy, and environmental Kuznets curve. Renew Sust Energ Rev 72:639–647
Ozturk I (2017) Measuring the impact of alternative and nuclear energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and oil rents on specific growth factors in the panel of Latin American countries. Prog Nucl Energy 100:71–81
Ozturk I, Acaravci A (2010) CO2 emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in Turkey. Renew Sust Energ Rev 14(9):3220–3225
Palmer TB, Flanagan DJ (2016) The sustainable company: looking at goals for people, planet and profits. J Bus Strateg
Renlei YSZJ (2011) Research hotspots analysis of digital library based on keywords co-occurrence analysis and social network analysis. J Acad Lib
Romagnoli F, Barisa A, Dzene I, Blumberga A (2014) Implementation of different policy strategies promoting the use of wood fuel in the Latvian district heating system: Impact evaluation through a system dynamic model. Energy 76:210–222
Sarkodie SA, Adams S (2018) Renewable energy, nuclear energy, and environmental pollution: accounting for political institutional quality in South Africa. Sci Total Environ 643:1590–1601
Sarkodie SA, Strezov V (2018) Empirical study of the environmental Kuznets curve and environmental sustainability curve hypothesis for Australia, China, Ghana and USA. J Clean Prod 201:98–110
Schneider F, Kallis G, Martinez-Alier J (2010) Crisis or opportunity? Economic degrowth for social equity and ecological sustainability. Introduction to this special issue. J Clean Prod 18(6):511–518
Sebri M, Ben-Salha O (2014) On the causal dynamics between economic growth, renewable energy consumption, CO2 emissions and trade openness: fresh evidence from BRICS countries. Renew Sust Energ Rev 39:14–23
Shahbaz M, Hye QMA, Tiwari AK, Leitao NC (2013) Economic growth, energy consumption, financial development, international trade and CO2 emissions in Indonesia. Renew Sust Energ Rev 25:109–121
Shahbaz M, Lean HH, Shabbir MS (2012) Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Pakistan: cointegration and Granger causality. Renew Sust Energ Rev 16(5):2947–2953
Soytas U, Sari R (2009) Energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon emissions: challenges faced by an EU candidate member. Ecol Econ 68(6):1667–1675
Soytas U, Sari R, Ewing BT (2007) Energy consumption, income, and carbon emissions in the United States. Ecol Econ 62(3-4):482–489
Stern DI (2004) The rise and fall of the environmental Kuznets curve. World Dev 32(8):1419–1439
Talbi B, Jebli MB, Bashir MF, Shahzad U (2020) Does economic progress and electricity price induce electricity demand: a new appraisal in context of Tunisia. J Public Aff. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2379
Tiba S, Omri A (2017) Literature survey on the relationships between energy, environment and economic growth. Renew Sust Energ Rev 69:1129–1146
Usman O, Iorember PT, Olanipekun IO (2019) Revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in India: the effects of energy consumption and democracy. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26(13):13390–13400
Van Den Bergh JC (2017) A third option for climate policy within potential limits to growth. Nat Clim Chang 7(2):107–112
Victor P (2010) Questioning economic growth. Nature 468(7322):370–371
Vincent JR (1997) Testing for environmental Kuznets curves within a developing country. Environ Dev Econ 2(4):417–431
Wang Y, Li L, Kubota J, Han R, Zhu X, Lu G (2016) Does urbanization lead to more carbon emission? Evidence from a panel of BRICS countries. Appl Energy 168:375–380
Wang Z, Zhao Y, Wang B (2018) A bibliometric analysis of climate change adaptation based on massive research literature data. J Clean Prod 199:1072–1082
Wei Y, Mi Z, Zhang H (2013) Progress of integrated assessment models for climate policy. Syst Eng Theory Pract 33(8):1905–1915
Zaman K, Shahbaz M, Loganathan N, Raza SA (2016) Tourism development, energy consumption and Environmental Kuznets Curve: trivariate analysis in the panel of developed and developing countries. Tour Manag 54:275–283
Zapatrina I (2016) Sustainable development goals for developing economies and public–private partnership. Eur Procur Public Priv Partner Law Rev 11(1):39–45
Zhang B, Wang B, Wang Z (2017) Role of renewable energy and non-renewable energy consumption on EKC: evidence from Pakistan. J Clean Prod 156:855–864
Zhang K, Wang Q, Liang QM, Chen H (2016) A bibliometric analysis of research on carbon tax from 1989 to 2014. Renew Sust Energ Rev 58:297–310
Zhang XP, Cheng XM (2009) Energy consumption, carbon emissions, and economic growth in China. Ecol Econ 68(10):2706–2712
Zoundi Z (2017) CO2 emissions, renewable energy and the Environmental Kuznets Curve, a panel cointegration approach. Renew Sust Energ Rev 72:1067–1075
Funding
We acknowledge the financial support by the Ministry of Education–China Mobile Joint Laboratory Grant Number: 2020MHL02005.
Availability of data and materials
Research data can be obtained from the corresponding author through email.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Author contribution is as follows:
Author | Contribution |
Muhammad Farhan Bashir | Writing—original draft, Software |
Benjiang MA | Methodology, project administration |
Bilal | Revision |
Muhammad Adnan Bashir | Resources, formal analysis |
Luqman Shahzad | Data curation |
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical approval
We certify that the manuscript titled “Scientific data-driven evaluation of academic publications on environmental Kuznets curve” (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Paper’) has been entirely our original work except otherwise indicated, and it does not infringe the copyright of any third party. The submission of the Paper to Environmental Science and Pollution Research implies that the Paper has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as a part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors, and that, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.
Copyrights for articles published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research are retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to Environmental Science and Pollution Research.
Consent to participate
We affirm that all authors have participated in the research work and are fully aware of ethical responsibilities.
Consent to publish
We affirm that all authors have agreed for submission of the paper to ESPR and are fully aware of ethical responsibilities
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Ilhan Ozturk
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bashir, M.F., Ma, B., Bashir, M.A. et al. Scientific data-driven evaluation of academic publications on environmental Kuznets curve. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 16982–16999 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13110-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13110-6