The Contested Concept of Growth Imperatives: Technology and the Fear of Stagnation
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46 Post-Growth Economics
46 POST-GROWTH ECONOMICS Niko Paech Introduction Today’s sustainability concepts are mostly based on ecological modernisation. Modern societies follow this trend and tend to shift the necessity of changing their consumption habits to a point later in time, or even deny the necessity of change completely. This is based on the hope that technological progress can solve the sustainability problem without having to go through difficult changes in lifestyle and a moderation of consumption habits. However, many of those ‘Green’ innovations intensify material and energy overexploitation by making use of previously unspoilt landscapes and untouched resources. As long as decoupling by technological means turns out to be impossible, sustainable development can only be understood as a programme for economic reduction rather than conjuring Green Growth solutions. In this chapter I will explore an alternative to this popularised approach. That is a world that no longer clings to the growth imperative and makes the post-growth economy its goal. I start by defining what is meant by post-growth economics and how it has developed. This is followed by an exploration of the case for limits to growth and why decoupling runs into problems, including the rebound effect. I then outline some key aspects of a post-growth economy, before briefly identifying future directions and finishing with some concluding remarks. The development and meaning of post-growth economics Development of post-growth economics The terms post-growth economics (as an analytical framework) and post-growth economies (as a concrete draft for the future) arose in debates over sustainability held at Carl von Ossietzky University in Oldenburg during 2006. -
Publikationsliste Von Niko Paech
apl. Prof. Dr. Niko Paech Publikationsliste Monographien Die Wirkung potentieller Konkurrenz auf das Preissetzungsverhalten etablierter Firmen bei Ab- wesenheit strategischer Asymmetrien, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, 1995 (Dissertation). Nachhaltiges Wirtschaften jenseits von Innovationsorientierung und Wachstum { Eine unter- nehmensbezogene Transformationstheorie, Metropolis-Verlag, Marburg, 1. Auflage 2005, 2. Auf- lage, 2012 (Habilitationsschrift). Befreiung vom Uberfluss.¨ Auf dem Weg in die Postwachstums¨okonomie, oekom verlag, Munchen,¨ 1. Auflage 2012, 8. Auflage, 2015. Liberation from Excess. The Road to a Post-Growth Economy, oekom verlag, Munich, 2012. Namudosi Publishing Co., Seoul, 2015. Was Sie da vorhaben, w¨are ja eine Revolution..., oekom verlag, Munchen,¨ 2016 (mit Erhard Eppler und Christiane Grefe). Se Lib´erer Du Superflu. Vers une ´economie de post-croissance, Rue de L'´echiquier, Paris, 2016. Energie, Entropie, Kreativit¨at { Was das Wachstum treibt und bremst, Springer Spektrum, Berlin, 2018 (mit R. Kummel¨ und D. Lindenberger). Okonomie¨ der Genugsamkeit.¨ Impulse fur¨ eine Gesellschaft ohne Wachstum, Herrenalber Fo- rum, Karlsruhe 2019 (mit C. Rauch und A. U. Engelmann). All you need is less. Eine Kultur des Genug aus ¨okonomischer und buddhistischer Sicht, oekom verlag, Munchen,¨ 2020 (mit M. Folkers). Herausgeberschaften Perspektiven einer kulturwissenschaftlichen Theorie der Unternehmung, Metropolis-Verlag, Marburg, 2004 (mit Forschungsgruppe Unternehmen und gesellschaftltiche Organisationen { FUGO). Nachhaltige Zukunftsm¨arkte. Orientierungen fur¨ unternehmerische Innovationsprozesse im 21. Jahrhundert, Metropolis-Verlag, Marburg, 2005 (mit K. Fichter und R. Pfriem). Innovationen fur¨ eine nachhaltige Entwicklung, Deutscher Universit¨ats-Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2006 (mit R. Pfriem, R. Antes, K. Fichter, M. Muller,¨ S. Seuring und B. Siebenhuner).¨ Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Nachhaltigkeitsforschung, Buchreihe im Metropolis-Verlag, Mar- burg, von der seit 2007 acht B¨ande erschienen sind (Mitgliedschaft im Herausgebergremium und Lektorat). -
Master Thesis
Ch F-X ang PD e w Click to buy NOW! w m o w c .d k. ocu-trac Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany Program: Sustainability Economics and Management Master of Arts Master Thesis Titel: Diffusion of Sustainability Innovations around Lynedoch EcoVillage by: Claudia Stüwe for: PD Dr. Niko Paech PD Dr. Klaus Fichter Oldenburg, Germany, 04.11.2009 Ch F-X ang PD e w Click to buy NOW! w m o w c .d k. ocu-trac Table of Contents Page Abstract ............................................................................................................... 4 Table of Figures ................................................................................................... 4 List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. 5 Section 1 .............................................................................................................. 7 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Ecosystem degradation, climate change and increasing inequalities ............ 7 1.2 Sustainability and ‘transferable life styles’ .................................................. 9 1.3 Giving sustainability a different direction: Lynedoch EcoVillage, South Africa ............................................................................................................. 10 2. Research Design ........................................................................................... -
Media Review: Three Books on a New Economics: a German Perspective Ulrike Brandhorst
Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies Volume 4 Article 11 Issue 1 Winter, Caring Democracy 3-2-2017 Media Review: Three Books on a New Economics: A German Perspective Ulrike Brandhorst Follow this and additional works at: http://pubs.lib.umn.edu/ijps Recommended Citation Brandhorst, Ulrike (2017) "Media Review: Three Books on a New Economics: A German Perspective," Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 11. Available at: http://pubs.lib.umn.edu/ijps/vol4/iss1/11 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License The Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies is published by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. Authors retain ownership of their articles, which are made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial license (CC BY-NC 4.0). Brandhorst: Media Review: Three Books on a New Economics MEDIA REVIEW Three Books on a New Economics: A German Perspective LIBERATION FROM EXCESS: THE ROAD TO A POST-GROWTH ECONOMY, Niko Paech (2012) CHANGE EVERYTHING: CREATING AN ECONOMY FOR THE COMMON GOOD, Christian Felber (2015) THE REAL WEALTH OF NATIONS: CREATING A CARING ECONOMICS, Riane Eisler (2008) Reviewed by Ulrike Brandhorst Abstract The first part of this paper presents the ideas of Niko Paech and Christian Felber, two popular exponents of alternative economic models in Germany and Austria. Both authors invoke psychological and behavioral factors, noting that our current economic system is leaving people dependent, unhappy, and dissatisfied, and that this system’s values are contradictory to our constitutional and fundamental values. The book presented in the second part of the paper helps understand this absurdity. -
Fear of Stagnation? a Review on Growth Imperatives
A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Richters, Oliver; Siemoneit, Andreas Working Paper Fear of stagnation? A review on growth imperatives VÖÖ Discussion Paper, No. 6/2017 Provided in Cooperation with: Vereinigung für Ökologische Ökonomie e.V. (VÖÖ), Heidelberg Suggested Citation: Richters, Oliver; Siemoneit, Andreas (2017) : Fear of stagnation? A review on growth imperatives, VÖÖ Discussion Paper, No. 6/2017, Vereinigung für Ökologische Ökonomie (VÖÖ), Heidelberg This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/158012 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative -
The Growth Imperative: HOW SLOW GROWTH THREATENS OUR FUTURE and the AMERICAN DREAM
The Growth Imperative: HOW SLOW GROWTH THREATENS OUR FUTURE AND THE AMERICAN DREAM Analysis by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Ph.D. President, American Action Forum The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) is a 501 (c)(3) nonpro!t af!liate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce dedicated to strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness by addressing developments that affect our nation, our economy, and the global business environment. THE CASE FOR GROWTH The Honorable John R. McKernan Jr. President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation hese are challenging times in America. With slow job creation and soaring debt, Americans now look Tto the future with worry rather than with hope. The American economy, which was once the most expansive, innovative, and inclusive in the world, is no longer keeping pace with the needs and dreams of the nation’s workers and families. Our lagging economic growth is a threat to the American Dream and to sustainable government !nances. In a recent report, the Congressional Budget Of!ce (CBO) forecast annual growth of under 2.5% through 2024. That is signi!cantly lower than the 40-year historical average of more than 3% a year. CBO is not alone in offering that subpar forecast. Other leading economic experts, on both sides of the political aisle, have forecast mediocre growth in the years to come. The result of this combination of our existing !scal realities and these sobering estimates are twofold: (1) depressed opportunity and job creation for America’s middle class, (2) and a federal government that registers immense annual de!cits as far as the eye can see. -
Consistency and Stability Analysis of Models of a Monetary Growth Imperative
Ecological Economics 136 (2017) 114–125 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ecological Economics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon Analysis Consistency and stability analysis of models of a monetary growth imperative Oliver Richtersa,*, Andreas Siemoneit b aInternational Economics, Department of Economics, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114–118, Oldenburg (Oldb) 26129, Germany bSchlesische Straße 32, Berlin 10997, Germany ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Is fostering economic growth ‘only’ a question of political will or ‘unavoidable’ to maintain economic sta- Received 3 March 2016 bility? It is disputed whether such a ‘growth imperative’ is located within the current monetary system, Received in revised form 22 January 2017 creating conflicts with sustainability. To examine the claim that compound interest compels economies to Accepted 24 January 2017 grow, we present five post-Keynesian models and show how to perform a stability analysis in the parameter Available online 21 February 2017 space. A stationary state with zero net saving and investment can be reached with positive interest rates, if the parameter ‘consumption out of wealth’ is above a threshold that rises with the interest rate. The other JEL classification: claim that retained profits from the interest revenues of banks create an imperative is based on circuitist Q01 Sustainable Development models that we consider refutable. Their accounting is inconsistent, and a modeling assumption central for O44 Environment and growth a growth imperative is not underpinned theoretically: Bank’s equity capital has to increase even if debt does E12 Keynes–Keynesian–Post-Keynesian E43 Interest rates: determination not. This is a discrepancy between the authors’ intentions in their texts and their actual models. -
Computational Analysis of the Properties of Post-Keynesian Endogenous Money Systems
Journal of Risk and Financial Management Article Computational Analysis of the Properties of Post-Keynesian Endogenous Money Systems Stef Kuypers 1,* , Thomas Goorden 1 and Bruno Delepierre 1,2 1 Happonomy VZW, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; [email protected] (T.G.); [email protected] (B.D.) 2 Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 69, 3000 Leuven, Belgium * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: The debate about whether or not a growth imperative exists in debt-based, interest-bearing monetary systems has not yet been settled. It is the goal of this paper to introduce a new perspective in this discussion. For that purpose, an SFC computational model is constructed that simulates a post- Keynesian endogenous money system without including economic parameters such as production, wages, consumption and savings. The case is made that isolating the monetary system allows for better analysis of the inherent properties of such a system. Loan demands, which are assumed to happen, are the driving force of the model. Simulations can be run in two modes, each based on a different assumption. Either the growth rate of the money stock is assumed to be constant or the loan ratio, expressed as a percentage of the money stock, is assumed to be constant. Simulations with varying parameters were run in order to determine the conditions under which the model converges to stability, which is defined as converging to a bounded debt ratio. The analysis showed that the stability of the model is dependent on net bank profit ratios, expressed relative to their debt assets, Citation: Kuypers, Stef, Thomas remaining below the growth rate of the money stock. -
Economic Growth Between Stagnation and Obsession Why Ask? Questions and Approach Why Growth? Key Arguments on the (Re)Making of the Growth Paradigm 1
Why bother? Economic growth between stagnation and obsession Why ask? Questions and approach Why growth? Key arguments on the (re)making of the growth paradigm 1. The four discourses of the growth paradigm 2. The flexibility of the growth paradigm 3. GDP as the measure 4. Growth as a universal solution 5. The entangled rise of economics and the growth paradigm So what? Some tentative conclusions Nominal (left) and real (right) GDP % change on year earlier in key OECD countries, 1960-2014 Source: Penn World Tables; The Economist Nominal (left) and real (right) GDP % change on year earlier in key OECD countries, 1960-2014 “Modern macroeconomics often seems to treat rapid and stable economic growth as the be-all and end-all of policy. That message is echoed in political debates, central-bank boardrooms and front-page headlines […] There is a certain absurdity to the obsession with maximizing long-term average income growth in perpetuity, to the neglect of other risks and considerations.” Kenneth Rogoff, “Rethinking the Growth Imperative,” Project Syndicate, 2012, http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rethinking-the-growth-imperative Source: Penn World Tables; The Economist The rise of “economic growth” in public discourse Source: Ngram Viewer The rise of “economic growth” as a scientific concept articles discipline by Percentage of articles containing ‘economic growth’ inallJStor ‘economic growth’ of articles containing Percentage Source: Data For Research (DFR) The growth idea in perspective Economic growth has been described as: ‣ fetish (McNeill 2000) ‣ obsession (Eichengreen 2007, van der Wee 1995) ‣ ideology (Milward 1987, Maier 2010) ‣ axiomatic necessity (Georgescu-Roegen 1977) ‣ social imaginary (Castoriadis 1991, Latouche 2010) The “overarching priority of economic growth was easily the most important idea of the twentieth century” (McNeill 2000, p. -
Growth Theory Through the Lens of Development Economics
Growth Theory Through the Lens of Development Economics Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo ∗ March 2004 1 Introduction: Neo-classical Growth Theory The premise of neo-classical growth theory is that it is possible to do a reasonable job of explaining the broad patterns of economic change across countries, by looking at it through the lens of an aggregate production function. The aggregate production function relates the total output of an economy (a country, for example) to the aggregate amounts of labor, human capital and physical capital in the economy, and some simple measure of the level of technology in the economy as a whole. It is formally represented as (A, KP KH , L) where KP and KH are the total amounts of physical and human capital invested, L is F the total labor endowment of the economy and A is a technology parameter. The aggregate production function is not meant to be something that physically exists. Rather, it is a convenient construct. Growth theorists, like everyone else, have in mind a world where production functions are associated with people. To see how they proceed, let us start with a model where everyone has the option of starting a firm, and when they do, they have access to an individual production function Y = F (KP ,KH ,L,θ), (1) where KP and KH are the amounts of physical and human capital invested in the firm and L is the amount of labor. θ is a productivity parameter which may vary over time, but at any point of time is a characteristic of the firm’s owner. -
Marketing and the Ceo's Growth Imperative
MARKETING AND THE CEO’S GROWTH IMPERATIVE by George S. Day Corporate leaders are being squeezed between the pressure by equity markets, for sustained growth in earnings, and shrinking opportunities for growth in their saturated and hotly contested markets. This squeeze is being worsened by the recent stock market plunge which has ruled out growth by stock swap acquisitions and precluded accounting manipulations that artificially grow earnings. This puts organic growth close to the top of the personal agendas of most Chief Executive Officers. Will CEO’s get much help from marketing in resolving their organic growth dilemma? The growth gurus, including Clay Christensen, Richard Foster, Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad, are dismissive. In their view marketing is too close to the immediate demands and requirements of current customers and competitors to be a source of breakthrough sources of growth. At the same time new organizational forms are subordinating marketing’s traditional functional role in the innovation process. My intention is first to challenge this restrictive view, because it is not in the organization’s best interest to have marketing performing below potential, and then show how good marketing practice can enhance fast-paced growth through discontinuous innovation. WHY IS IT IMPERATIVE TO GROW? The growth imperative is shaped by the four forces in Figure One. They impinge on top management by imposing constraints and requiring challenging objectives. At the 1 top is the intense focus on shareholder value creation. Bonuses and option awards are increasingly linked to this metric, and the market clearly rewards companies that deliver profitable growth. -
Efficiency Consumption
An offer you can’t refuse – Enhancing personal productivity through ‘efficiency consumption’ Andreas Siemoneit ZOE Discussion Papers | No. 2 | January 2019 ZOE Discussion Papers No. 2 · January 2019 An offer you can’t refuse: Enhancing personal productivity through ‘efficiency consumption’ Andreas Siemoneit ZOE. Institut für zukunftsfähige Ökonomien. www.effizienzkritik.de Abstract: Worldwide, economic growth is a prominent political goal, despite its severe conflicts with ecological sustainability. Contributing to the debate on economic ‘growth imperatives’, this article explores the thesis that firms and consumers both frequently acquire goods that increase their efficiency (productivity). For firms, efficiency is accepted as a main investment motive, but for consumers it is usually framed as convenience, ease, or comfort. Via social diffusion processes consumption goods that can save time and costs are transformed from a welcome expansion of possibilities into a social imperative whose noncompliance over time also has economic drawbacks. Positive feedback mechanisms not only lead to an acceleration of private life but favor ever more efficient industry and trade structures on the supply side, contributing to a redistribution of incomes and revenues. Eventually a comprehensive consumption pattern leads to a new ‘normality’ and makes the renunciation of consumption goods like cars, computers or smartphones literally impossible. Both microeconomics and consumption sociology usually assume fundamental differences of motivations, goals and structural overall conditions for firms and consumers. Some reasons for this scholarly asymmetry are discussed and a more symmetrical consumption model is proposed. As a political dimension the increasing resource use of this quest for efficiency is addressed. Keywords: Efficiency; Diffusion of Innovations; Growth Imperative; Feedback loops; Theory of Consumption Licence: Creative-Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0.