Study on Existence of EKC in China Employing Hierarchical Cluster Method

Abstract

Environmental problem is an unavoidable issue in the process of economic development. So immediately after Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) was first posed, it became the centre of the field of ecological economy. Based on the reference study and theoretical analysis, this paper makes a conclusion that the study method needs to be further polished and that cluster analysis is a good approach. This paper introduces hierarchical cluster and classifies 30 districts in China into 3 clusters by using GDP per capital and the ratio of industrial production in GDP of each district, and then studies on the clusters separately with data covering the period from 1997 to 2007. The result supports the existence of EKC but shows uncertainties in future forecasting.