Prosperity Without Growth?

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Prosperity without Growth Tim Jackson 19th August 2012 Denver Rockstrom et al, NatureThe 461, Sept Dilemma of Growth 2009 • Growth is unsustainable • De-growth is unstable The dilemma inadequate economic growth Innovation leading to increased of growth labour productivity unemployment up consumption down tax revenues down deficits up public expenditures down loan defaults up investment down lower economic growth The Myth of Decoupling Source: Prosperity without growth, Tim Jackson (London, Earthscan 2009) x 130 improvement CO2/$ < zero by 2100? The Engine of Growth • shareholder value • creative destruction Firms Spending Income Increasing Investment productivity Novelty Price Households Credit • status consumption • a life without shame London, 6th August 2011 A Better Nature? Novelty Other Self Tradition Where is the green economy? Greening Enterprise as investment service Ecological macro- economics Greening Investment • Different investment targets • Different investment ‘ecology’ • Changed productivity /profitability • Reform of financial markets • Role of public sector The service enterprise • providing capabilities • treading lightly • supporting communities • providing jobs Productivity and work • two routes towards full employment • sharing the work, increasing leisure • shifting to labour intensive sectors Every search saves rainforest! Each free web search saves about 2.4 yd² of rainforest. We have already protected 13,690,860 yd² Research Questions • Is economic growth required in advanced economies to maintain employment and ensure stability? • Does stability of the financial system require growth in the 'real' economy? • Will restraints on demand (for whatever reason) cause instability in the real economy and or financial system? Green Economy Macro- Model and Accounts (GEMMA) Tim Jackson and Peter Victor A system-dynamic, stock-flow consistent macro-economic model - simulating the development of the real and financial economy under conditions of ecological constraint Ecological Footsteps Establish the limits Fix the economics Change the social logic Prosperity consists in our ability to flourish as human beings… ….within the ecological limits of a finite planet .

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