What caused the drop in Finlands sulphur dioxide emissions in late 20th century Finland?
What is it about?
This article examines the linkage between per capita GDP and sulfur dioxide emissions for one single country, in this case Finland. The narrow approach together with a combination of a historical and economical approach enables us cut deeper into the controversial environmental Kuznets curve -hypothesis. We found two parallel reasons for a downturn in sulfur emissions: technological development and anxiety about possible environmental damage and related economic costs. The role of economic growth creating a downturn was noticed being small or nonexistent. As a result, we claim that the causal connection goes to an opposite direction: proper environmental standards and conservation comprise a necessary condition for economic growth in the long run.
Why is it important?
We show that proper environmental standards and conservation comprise a necessary condition for economic growth in the long run.