Growth and ecology. The case of South Korea

Abstract

In agreement with UN, the intention of the sustainable development is to keep the balance among the economic advantage, the social improvement and the environment protection. However, several critical voices have questioned the possibility of a sustainable development under the actual mood of production – consumption. In this sense, this article has the goal to confront these theorical positions through the analysis of South Korea’s case. The methodology was based on the econometrical analysis of the correlation between economic growth and the contamination level. The result showed, through a quadratic model, the verification of the Kuznets Curve, that in developed countries the level of pollution decreases. However, the contribution of this work lies in demonstrating that the effects of growth on the reduction of pollutants are infinitely small, so the ecological damage caused to the planet while achieving the optimum level of growth could be irreversible.