The Analysis of the Concept of the Environmental Kuznets Curve

The environmental protection is often in conflict with catching up the highest economic level of the country. In some developed countries the higher economic level means also the higher pollution of the environment. Indeed, this is applied only till one point -- the turning point -- from which the trend is applied vice-versa, the higher the economic prosperity of the country, the lower the pollution of the environment. This phenomenon is in environmental economics called the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). Diploma thesis focuses on the analysis of the EKC, from detailed description of the theoretic and econometric framework, factors influencing the EKC, to crucial studies which were published in this area of economics. In connection with the factors influencing EKC the thesis underline the important role of the environmental regulation and state or international ecologic policy, which the work is dealing in initiate part with. The aim of the work is to analyze if the EKC hypothesis is valid in reality or not. Furthermore the diploma thesis targets also the situation of the developing countries -- if they have to go through the same path as nowadays developed countries or if they on the contrary use their experiences.