Environmental Sustainability: A Consumption Approach / Edition 1

by Raghbendra Jha, K.V. Bhanu Murthy

Overview

With globalization fast becoming an irreversible process, it is necessary to pay increased attention to the implications for environmental sustainability. However, the so-called environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) argument implies that rapid economic growth in many developing countries should be environmentally unsustainable.

Environmental Sustainability addresses this dichotomy and articulates a notion of consumption sustainability that is both universal and pertains to the indefinite future. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of addressing a broad spectrum of sources of environmental degradation and relates this measure to an index of economic achievement more complete than per capita income.

As well as the EKC, authors Jha and Murthy also critique the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) and empirically substantiate the proposition that a certain type of development in the presently high-income countries is primarily responsible for global environmental degradation. Several policy conclusions for global environmental management are also advanced.

Throughout, Jha and Murthy comprehensively evaluate existing approaches to environmental sustainability and critically review empirical studies of environmental degradation, and economic development, making this an invaluable source of information for those concerned with environmental economics and political economy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415363464
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/22/2006
Series:	Routledge Explorations in Environmental Economics , #5
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Raghbendra Jha is Rajiv Gandhi Chair Professor and Executive Director Australia South Research Centre, Division of Economics at the Australian National University.

K.V. Bhanu Murthy is Professor Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables. Preface. 1. Global Disparity and Environmental Sustainability 2. Consumption and Sustainable Development: An Overview 3. Methodological Issues: A Review 4. Global Environmental Degradation: Concept and Methodology of Measurement 5. Sustainability: Behavior, Property Rights and Economic Growth 6. An Inverse Global Environmental Kuznets Curve 7. A Critique of the Environmental Sustainability Index 8. A Consumption Based Human Development Index and the Global Environmental Kuznets Curve 9.Political Economy of Global Environmental Governance 10. Issues in Global Environmental Management 11. Summary and Conclusions. References

Editorial Reviews

'This book is particularly recommendable to scholars interested in the driving forces of global environmental degradation, South-North environmental relations, and alternative approaches to address the relationship between economic development and the environment.' - Development and Change

From the Publisher