Environmental Engel Curves: Indirect Emissions of Common Air Pollutants
研究了1984至2012年美国点源空气污染物的环境恩格尔曲线，发现曲线向上倾斜、收入弹性小于1且随时间下移，污染下降一半归因于收入增长沿曲线移动，一半归因于经济整体变化。
Abstract Environmental Engel curves (EECs) describe households’ incomes and the pollution necessary to produce the goods and services they consume. We calculate 29 annual EECs from 1984 to 2012 for point-source air pollutants in the United States, revealing three clear results: EECs slope upward, have income elasticities less than 1, and shift down over time. Even without changes to production techniques, pollution would have declined despite growing incomes. This improvement can be attributed about equally to two trends: household income growth represented by movement along inelastic EECs and economy-wide changes represented by downward shifts in EECs over time.