Internal migration and the environmental Kuznets curve for US hazardous waste sites

In the recent special issue of Ecological Economics devoted to the environm ental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, Rothman speculates that: "what appear to be improvements in environmental quality may in reality be indicators o f increased ability of consumers in wealthy nations to distance themselves from the environmental degradation associated with their consumption" (Roth man, D., 1998. Environmental Kuznets curves - real progress or passing the buck?: a case for consumption-based approaches. Ecol. Econ. 25, 178). Consi stent with Rothman's general hypothesis of 'distancing' as a possible sourc e of EKC results, this empirical study advances and tests a line of argumen t in which internal migration plays a central explanatory role for an obser ved EKC for US hazardous waste sites. Two specific hypotheses tested are: ( i) proximity to hazardous waste site build-up emerges as a factor in the mi gration decisions of individuals as per capita income increases beyond a th reshold level; and (ii) the level of income at which the EKC turns downward s is equal to the threshold level of income in (i). Results provide evidenc e that migration is a contributing factor to the observed EKC. (C) 2000 Els evier Science B.V. All rights reserved.