PRESERVAÇÃO AMBIENTAL E CRESCIMENTO ECONÔMICO NO BRASIL

Abstract

This paper deals with the potential dilemma between economic growth and environmental quality, known in the literature as Environmental Kuznets Curve. This relationship is not theoretically clear, and the empirical results are contradictory, depending on the type of environmental indicator, and on the variables used. This paper contributes to the debate offering new empirical evidences for Brazil. Using as the dependent variable the share of preserved state areas of the 26 Brazilian states and the Distrito Federal - previously unknown - we test empirically which is the existing relation between economic growth and environmental preservation in Brazil. The results suggest that there is a positive relation between the conservation units and the Brazilian states economic growth.