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Population growth and natural resource scarcity: long-run development under seemingly unfavourable conditions

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Author Info
Lucas Bretschger () (CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research at ETH Zurich)

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Abstract

The paper develops a model with non-exponential population growth, nonrenewable natural resources, and endogenous knowledge creation to analyse substitution between primary inputs and an essential use of resources in the innovation sectors, which is generally considered as most unfavourable for growth. We show that population growth and poor input substitution are not detrimental but even needed to obtain sustainable consumption. A permanent increase in living standards can be achieved under free market conditions. With a backstop technology, the system converges to a balanced growth path with classical properties.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich in its series Economics working paper series with number 08/87.

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Length: 30 pages
Date of creation: Jun 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:eth:wpswif:08-87

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Related research
Keywords: Population growth; non-renewable resources; poor input substitution; technical change; sustainability;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
Q32 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Exhaustible Resources and Economic Development
Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounting
O41 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Samuelson, Paul A, 1978. "The Canonical Classical Model of Political Economy," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 1415-34, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Kremer, Michael, 1993. "Population Growth and Technological Change: One Million B.C. to 1990," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 108(3), pages 681-716, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Kemfert, Claudia, 1998. "Estimated substitution elasticities of a nested CES production function approach for Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 249-264, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. David de la Croix & Matthias Doepke, 2001. "Inequality and Growth: Why Differential Fertility Matters," UCLA Economics Working Papers 803, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Tsur, Yacov & Zemel, Amos, 2007. "Towards endogenous recombinant growth," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 31(11), pages 3459-3477, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Robert Tamura, 2000. "Growth, fertility and human capital: A survey," Spanish Economic Review, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 183-229. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Martin L. Weitzman, 1998. "Recombinant Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(2), pages 331-360, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Asheim, Geir B. & Buchholz, Wolfgang & Hartwick, John M. & Mitra, Tapan & Withagen, Cees, 2007. "Constant savings rates and quasi-arithmetic population growth under exhaustible resource constraints," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 213-229, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Partha Dasgupta, 1995. "The Population Problem: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 1879-1902, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Lucas Bretschger & Sjak Smulders, 2003. "Sustainability and Substitution of Exhaustible Natural Resources. How resource prices affect long-term R&D investments," Working Papers 2003.87, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Christian Groth & Poul Schou, 2002. "Can non-renewable resources alleviate the knife-edge character of endogenous growth?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 386-411, July.
    Other versions:
  12. Lopez, Ramon E. & Anriquez, Gustavo & Gulati, Sumeet, 2007. "Structural change and sustainable development," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 307-322, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Lans Bovenberg, A. & Smulders, Sjak, 1995. "Environmental quality and pollution-augmenting technological change in a two-sector endogenous growth model," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 369-391, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Bretschger, Lucas, 1998. "How to substitute in order to sustain: knowledge driven growth under environmental restrictions," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(04), pages 425-442, October. [Downloadable!]
  15. Groth, Christian & Schou, Poul, 2007. "Growth and non-renewable resources: The different roles of capital and resource taxes," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 80-98, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. R. M. Solow, 1973. "Intergenerational Equity and Exhaustable Resources," Working papers 103, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Karen Pittel & Lucas Bretschger, 2008. "Sectoral Heterogeneity, Resource Depletion, and Directed Technical Change: Theory and Policy," Economics working paper series 08/96, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich. [Downloadable!]
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