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Pervasive externalities at the population, consumption, and environment nexus.
Partha S Dasgupta1, Paul R Ehrlich
1Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9DD, UK. partha.dasgupta@econ.cam.ac.uk
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|April 20, 2013
Summary
Unsustainable economic development is driven by unaccounted consequences (externalities) of population growth and consumption. Addressing these externalities requires urgent local and global collective action to correct market inefficiencies and inequities.
Area of Science:
- Socio-ecological systems analysis
- Environmental economics
- Population studies
Background:
- Growing concerns regarding the sustainability of current economic development models.
- Extensive empirical research on population growth, consumption, and resource use.
- Limited theoretical understanding of the socio-ecological processes at the population-consumption-environment nexus.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a unified theoretical framework for understanding socio-ecological processes at the population-consumption-environment nexus.
- To identify and classify externalities in reproductive, consumption, and natural resource use decisions.
- To analyze the self-correcting mechanisms and nonlinear dynamics of these externalities.
Main Methods:
- Identification and classification of externalities related to reproduction, consumption, and environmental impact.
- Development of a theoretical framework integrating these externalities.
- Analysis of market self-correction and nonlinearities within the nexus.
Main Results:
- Externalities arising from individual decisions on reproduction, consumption, and resource use are ubiquitous.
- These externalities lead to resource allocation inefficiencies and often exacerbate inequities.
- Market mechanisms do not self-correct these externalities, and inherent nonlinearities amplify socio-ecological impacts.
Conclusions:
- The population-consumption-environment nexus is characterized by pervasive, non-self-correcting externalities.
- Nonlinearities amplify the socio-ecological consequences of these externalities.
- Urgent collective action at local and global levels is necessary to mitigate these externalities and ensure sustainability.
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