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The Green Solow model

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Abstract

We argue that a key empirical finding in environmental economics—the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC)—and the core model of modern macroeconomics—the Solow model—are intimately related. Once we amend the Solow model to incorporate technological progress in abatement, the EKC is a necessary by product of convergence to a sustainable growth path. We explain why current methods for estimating an EKC are likely to fail; provide an alternative empirical method directly tied to our theory; and estimate our model on carbon emissions from 173 countries over the 1960–1998 period.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    William A. Brock

  2. Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    M. Scott Taylor

  3. National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA, USA

    M. Scott Taylor

Authors
  1. William A. Brock
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  2. M. Scott Taylor
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Correspondence to M. Scott Taylor.

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Brock, W.A., Taylor, M.S. The Green Solow model. J Econ Growth 15, 127–153 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-010-9051-0

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