Interactions between economic growth and environmental quality in Shenzhen, China's first special economic zone

Abstract

The relationship between economic development and environmental quality is a debated topic. Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is one prominent hypothesis, positing an inverted U-shaped development–environment relationship. Here we test this hypothesis using data from Shenzhen, People's Republic of China. Established in 1980 as the first special economic zone in China, Shenzhen has developed from a small village into a large urban-industrial agglomeration with the highest income level in the country. The enormous expansion of infrastructure, industrial sites and urban settlements has profoundly changed the local environment. We utilize environmental monitoring data from Shenzhen on concentration of pollutants in ambient air, main rivers, and near-shore waters from 1989 to 2003. The results show that production-induced pollutants support EKC while consumption-induced pollutants do not support it.