Economic Growth Paradigm

Md. Shawkat Islam Sohel

Email: shawkat.sohel@northsouth.edu
 Key Focus

• What is the relationship between economic

growth and the environment?
• What are recent economic and environmental
trends?
• Will economic growth encounter planetary limits?
• How can economic development become
environmentally sustainable?
 Economic Growth Indicators

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) the total market

value of all final goods and services produced
within a national border in a year.

Does it consider resource limitation?

 Factors Essential for Economic Growth

• Tradition circular economy assumes-land, labor and capital will

enhance economic growth.

• However, there is no clear explanation about

– How land will regenerate resources?
– How waste/emission generated will be handled?
– How biocapacity of land will be managed?

• BECAUSE, they believe, continuous investment and technological

improvement will tackle those resource limits and above mentioned
crisis………….
 Factors Essential for Economic Growth

• EE believes suitable economic growth relies

on three factors-
– Energy supply
– Supply of natural capital

– Absorptive capacity of the environment to

assimilate wastes and pollution
Present Economic Growth Trend
Environmental trend in Recent Decade
What is the impact
of higher
population growth
on GDP, natural
resources and
living standard???
 Economic growth and environmental sustainability
www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1807026115 (Cumming et al. 2018)

Countries in higher HDI

categories display lower
population growth rates
than countries in lower
HDI1 1. Economic value of agricultural HDI categories.
or forestry output may be
higher in HDI1 countries than
in HDI4 countries.

For HDI1 countries, there 2. The proportional contributions

is a positive per capita of agriculture and forestry to
gross domestic product GDP are much lower in HDI1
(GDP) response to countries . These data show
population growth that, on average, people in
while for HDI4 countries, HDI1 countries depend on local
this response is negative. natural resources for a much
smaller proportion of their
income than people in HDI4
countries.
Increases in GDP are
HDI4 associated with positive
3. HDI1 countries must meet a
higher proportion of their but diminishing increases
higher demands by importing in HDI.
natural resources from HDI4
countries.

HDI-Human Development Index

Economic growth and environmental sustainability

Countries with higher Human Development Index (HDI) values also

have larger ecological footprints, measured as per capita use of
agricultural and grazing land.

www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1807026115 (Cumming et al. 2018)

Consequences of traditional circular economy

So, do you think traditional circular economy

will be sustainable for future generation??
Discussion

• Over the past several decades, people have worried about the world

running out of oil or natural resources. How would you evaluate

them, considering both past experience and future prospects?

• How do you think we need to approach environmental issues

differently in developed and developing countries? What do you see

as the main environmental challenges in each?

Degrowth
 Concept of ‘Degrowth’

 ‘Degrowth’ emerged as an activist slogan in the 2000s, first in France.

 Degrowth assumes resource limitations and advocates smaller growth rates, even
negative, to balance the natural and the economic systems.

 Degrowth is recognized as an alternative to the capitalist growth system.

 DG ideas are often seen as controversial by political and economic decisionmakers.

 Degrowth also gave emphasis on self-limitation and voluntary simplicity, equality,

global social justice and an end to the exploitative relations of capitalism.
Do you think concept of ‘Degrowth’ is
related with the concept of ‘Ecological
Economics’?
Where is the difference and where is
the similarities?
Research Trend of ‘Degrowth’
Research Trend of ‘Degrowth’
Co-occurrence of ‘Degrowth’ with other concept
Co-occurrence of ‘Degrowth’ with other
concept
 Dynamics of Degrowth

1. GDP degrowth

2. Consumption degrowth

3. Work-time degrowth

4. Radical degrowth

5. Physical degrowth
 GDP Degrowth

• The first interpretation of degrowth is striving for negative

GDP growth or a reduction in GDP (the opposite of economic
growth)

Any criticism about this concept? Do you think long-term GDP

degrowth can encourage green economy?

the long term effect is uncertain, as GDP degrowth may depress investments in
cleaner technologies, renewable energy and related research, which can lead to an
increase in future CO2 emissions.
 Consumption Degrowth
• means striving for a reduction in the amount of
consumption.
• a strategy that emphasis into less resource use and
less pollution

What should be the measurement unit of consumption?

How to reduce consumption?

A voluntary reduction of consumption of certain types of

goods and services may well lead to an increase in other
types of consumption.
 Work-time Degrowth

• More work hours VS less work hours--Which is

economically and environmentally sustainable?

Degrowth of working hours will reduce income which in

turn will limit consumption and reduce pressure on
environment.
 Radical Degrowth

• Believes in Radical change in economy, values, ethics,

preferences, financial systems, markets work and
labor, the role of money, or even profit-making and
ownership.
• This concept is idealistic rather than analytical and
realistic.

“escaping from the [capitalist] economy.”

 Physical Degrowth

• reduction of the physical size of the economy,

notably in terms of resource use and polluting
emission.

Supports “limits to growth” concept

Thanks