ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) theory has long been used to investigate the link between economic growth and environmental degradation. Although the EKC has been validated by a number of studies, a majority of them are concentrated in the developing world and rarely consider sociodemographic factors like gender into account. This study addresses this research gap by analyzing how gender-related indicators influence the income-pollution relationship in the Indian context. The study uses an unbalanced panel dataset for all 36 Indian States / UTs from 2012 to 2021 to investigate the EKC hypothesis for three main air pollutants: Sulphur Dioxide (SO₂), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂), and Particulate Matter (PM₁₀). The study has used two gender-related indicators—the Female Labour Force Participation Rate and the Gender Parity Index for Higher Education—as interaction variables to investigate their moderating effect on the EKC relationship. In contrast to the conventional inverted U-shaped EKC, the study provides evidence for a U-shaped income-pollution relationship for all the three pollutants. The pollution levels increase at an increasing rate as income increases. Results further indicate that higher female labour force participation is associated with decreasing pollution as income rises, aligning with the Theory of Ecofeminism. On the other hand, greater gender parity in higher education is associated with increasing pollution as income rises. This is due to limited integration of higher education with sustainability studies and resource-intensive nature of the higher education sector. The analysis also reveals significant differences in these relationships across states. In relatively less developed states, the income-pollution relationship is significant only when gender is used as an interaction variable, implying that economic growth alone cannot help improve environmental quality especially in these regions. These results underline the significance of gender-sensitive environmental and economic policies, 'greening' of the education sector, and the importance of including the principle of gender equity more thoroughly into India's sustainable development plans.
Keywords: Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), Sulphur Dioxide (SO₂), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂), Particulate Matter (PM₁₀), Female Labour Force Participation Rate, Gender Parity Index for Higher Education.
