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On the mechanism and effects of innovation: Search for safety and independence of resource constraints expands the safe operating range

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  • Bringezu, Stefan

Abstract

The paper reflects the hypothesis that those technological and institutional innovations survive which extend the safe operating range (SOR) of the Humans-Technologies-Institutions (HTI) system (e.g. companies, cities, regions and countries). The multidimensional SOR of a country comprises in particular safe livelihood, quality of life, security, monetary stability, supply security and quality of the environment. A “mechanism of progress” is described involving the search for higher safety and independence of constraints. With innovation and learning in a key role, the mechanism leads to a relative decoupling of resource use and economic value added and a growing share of knowledge generation in the economy. Competition of HTI systems for scarce resources may lead to independence strategies such as enhanced resource efficiency. It may also lead to cooperation of competing HTI systems facilitated by new institutions thus forming an HTI system at higher level of complexity. While the consortium could coordinate their resource consumption within the boundaries of safe operating space, the partner HTI systems would further expand their SOR. Data is provided that net resource importing countries have developed higher material productivity thus increasing their independence from resource supply, and countries with such capability have gained higher innovation capacity.

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  • Bringezu, Stefan, 2015. "On the mechanism and effects of innovation: Search for safety and independence of resource constraints expands the safe operating range," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 387-400.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:116:y:2015:i:c:p:387-400
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.06.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dittrich, Monika & Bringezu, Stefan & Schütz, Helmut, 2012. "The physical dimension of international trade, part 2: Indirect global resource flows between 1962 and 2005," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 32-43.
    2. Bringezu, Stefan & Schutz, Helmut & Steger, Soren & Baudisch, Jan, 2004. "International comparison of resource use and its relation to economic growth: The development of total material requirement, direct material inputs and hidden flows and the structure of TMR," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 97-124, November.
    3. Walter R. Stahel, 2010. "The Performance Economy," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 2, number 978-0-230-27490-7.
    4. Freeman, Chris & Louca, Francisco, 2002. "As Time Goes By: From the Industrial Revolutions to the Information Revolution," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199251056, Decembrie.
    5. Paul Ekins, 2010. "Eco-innovation for environmental sustainability: concepts, progress and policies," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 267-290, August.
    6. Walter R. Stahel, 2010. "The Performance Economy," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-0-230-28884-3.
    7. Krausmann, Fridolin & Gingrich, Simone & Eisenmenger, Nina & Erb, Karl-Heinz & Haberl, Helmut & Fischer-Kowalski, Marina, 2009. "Growth in global materials use, GDP and population during the 20th century," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2696-2705, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tatiana Korpaniuk* & Yana Ishchenko & Natalia Koval, 2019. "Backgrounds for Improving Resource Management of Agricultural Enterprises Based on Economic Diagnostics of Biofuel Consumption," The Journal of Social Sciences Research, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 5(2), pages 367-380, 02-2019.
    2. Stefan Bringezu & Janez Potočnik & Heinz Schandl & Yonglong Lu & Anu Ramaswami & Mark Swilling & Sangwon Suh, 2016. "Multi-Scale Governance of Sustainable Natural Resource Use—Challenges and Opportunities for Monitoring and Institutional Development at the National and Global Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-25, August.

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