The present study evaluated the existence of an Environmental Kuznets' Curve (EKC) in the case of the absence of access to environmental sanitation services, which can be considered as an indirect measure of environmental degradation in Brazilian cities. The results show that the actual relation between access deficit of sanitation services and economic development is in an "N" shape instead of the traditional "inverted-U" from the EKC. Therefore, for the specific case of the services of environmental sanitation in Brazilian cities, the hypothesis that sustains the economic development as the best solution for environmental preservation is not verifiable, as, over time, the economic development would generate again environmental degradation.
Environmental sanitation; Environmental Kuznets Curve; Data panel
