Do the NMS-10 Develop Sustainably in the EU? A Kuznets Curve Approach

Ivan Todorov – South-West University Neofit Rilski, Faculty of Economics, 60, Ivan Mihaylov str., 2700 Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria

Mariya Stankova – South-West University Neofit Rilski, Faculty of Economics, 60, Ivan Mihaylov str., 2700 Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria

Abstract: Research background: Sustainable development with its three di­mensions (economic, social, and ecological) is of key importance to the exist­ence of human civilization. Sustainability is a complex category and in this re­search, each of its components is analyzed separately and in connection with others. Economic stability is related to the level of real income per capita, indi­cating the standard of living of a nation; social resilience is shown by income inequality, and environmental sustainability is expressed by the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per person. Purpose of the article: The focus is on the empirical analysis of the nexuses between income inequality, environ­mental quality, and purchasing power with a view to sustainability in 10 Eu­ropean Union member countries from Central and Eastern Europe, known as the NMS-10. To achieve its purpose, the study derives the original and ecolog­ical Kuznets curve for the NMS-10 as a group. The links between income ine­quality and living standard, on the one hand, and environmental degrada­tion and living standard, on the other hand, are estimated. Methods: The re­search methodology includes two autoregressions with distributed lag (ARDL) with annual data from Eurostat and Transparency International for the period 2007–2020. Findings & Value added: The obtained empirical results indicate a long-term N-shaped relationship between income inequality and purchasing power in the NMS-10, while living standard affects the quality of the environ­ment in NMS-10 neither in the long term nor in the short term.

7th International Scientific Conference – EMAN 2023 – Economics and Management: How to Cope With Disrupted Times, Ljubljana, Slovenia, March 23, 2023, SELECTED PAPERS, published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia; ISBN 978-86-80194-70-7, ISSN 2683-4510, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/EMAN.S.P.2023

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