environmental kuznets curve

The hypothesis of an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic output per capita and some measures of environmental quality: as GDP per capita rises, so does environmental degradation. However, beyond a certain point, increases in GDP per capita lead to reductions in environmental damage.

A hypothesized relationship between environmental quality and economic development: various indicators of environmental degradation tend to get worse as modern economic growth occurs until average income reaches a certain point over the course of development.