Is Economic Growth Sustainable? Environmental Quality of Indian States Post 1991

Abstract

This study is an attempt to investigate the relationship between environmental quality and per capita NSDP (i.e., Environment Kuznets Curve, EKC) of 14 major Indian States in the light of their very high economic growth in the post-liberalisation period. The analysis involves first ranking the States on the basis of their environmental quality, and then checking the relationship. The analysis captures both temporal and spatial aspects of environmental quality by ranking the States in two time periods - (i) early 1990s (1990 - 1996) and (ii) late 1990s (1997 - 2001). The results indicate that the relationship between environmental quality and per capita NSDP is slanting S-shaped. Except Bihar all other States are on the upward sloping curve of the EKC. The results suggest that the economic growth is mostly at the cost of environmental quality.

Keywords: environment and development, economic growth, Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), Environmental Quality (EQ), liberalisation, India