The 'Kuznets Curve' hypothesizes an inverted-U shaped relationship between a country's per capita income and its level of environmental degradation, suggesting that pollution initially rises with growth but eventually falls as the economy matures.

The description provided actually defines the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). The original, standard Kuznets Curve (proposed by Simon Kuznets in 1955) hypothesizes an inverted-U shaped relationship between per capita income and income inequality. It suggests that as an economy develops from agrarian to industrial, inequality first increases, but as it matures and welfare states emerge, inequality eventually decreases.