The Effect of Entrepreneurship,  Technology, and Innovation on the Environmental Kuznets Curve : An investigation of the N-shaped EKC and its relation to business activities in developed and developing countries

Abstract: This thesis examines the impact of entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation on the Environmental Kuznets Curve, using data from 2006-2016. Most studies either focus on the relationship between economic growth and CO2 emissions or the relationship between business activities and economic growth. We aim to expand research by connecting the two streams and proposing a way to make economic activities more sustainable. By applying quantile regression to our panel data and grouping countries in peer groups, we can see how the impact of the independent variables vary across the CO2 emissions distribution. We found evidence for an N-shaped EKC relationship in developed countries, whilst an inverted N-shape in developing countries. Our results confirmed that renewable energy consumption has a negative effect on environmental degradation. We also found evidence that entrepreneurship increases CO2 emissions in developed countries, suggesting that policies should incentivise a greener business model. On the contrary, we found that innovation increases emissions in developing countries and decreases emissions in developed countries.Keywords Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, Renewable energy, Technology,Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Sustainable development