INDUSTRIAL WATER USE KUZNETS CURVE : EVIDENCE FROM INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

This paper investigates the existence of the Kuznets curve in industrial water use. The result shows that industrial water use in most countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has experienced an increase, followed by a leveling off and then a decrease to some extent as income rises. The relationship between changes in industrial water use and income appears to comply with the environmental Kuznets curve, i.e., an inverted U-shaped curve seen in the relationship between income changes and environmental quality.