IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v165y2019ic23.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economics in the anthropocene: species extinction or steady state economics

Author

Listed:
  • Sol, Joeri

Abstract

At the dawn of the Anthropocene, continued economic growth carries the risk of irreversibly damaging the global carrying capacity. Using data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species (2016), I present estimates of the expected extinction rates during the coming century for 557 regions. I illustrate that these rates exceed the planetary boundary formulated by Rockström et al. (2009) virtually everywhere and increase with population density and GDP per capita. Likewise, the percentage of threatened species increases with anthropogenic pressure. I find no evidence in support of an Environmental Kuznets Curve. By doing so, this paper contributes to an ongoing debate on the relevance of absolute versus relative scarcity for economic thought. My findings suggest that the conservation of nature would benefit from degrowth or the transition to a global steady state economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Sol, Joeri, 2019. "Economics in the anthropocene: species extinction or steady state economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:165:y:2019:i:c:23
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106392
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092180091831557X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106392?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Perry, Neil & Shankar, Sriram, 2017. "The State-contingent Approach to the Noah's Ark Problem," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 65-72.
    2. Pierre Courtois & Charles Figuieres & Chloé Mulier, 2014. "Conservation Priorities when Species Interact: The Noah's Ark Metaphor Revisited," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(9), pages 1-8, September.
    3. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    4. F. Stuart Chapin III & Erika S. Zavaleta & Valerie T. Eviner & Rosamond L. Naylor & Peter M. Vitousek & Heather L. Reynolds & David U. Hooper & Sandra Lavorel & Osvaldo E. Sala & Sarah E. Hobbie & Mic, 2000. "Consequences of changing biodiversity," Nature, Nature, vol. 405(6783), pages 234-242, May.
    5. Christophe McGlade & Paul Ekins, 2015. "The geographical distribution of fossil fuels unused when limiting global warming to 2 °C," Nature, Nature, vol. 517(7533), pages 187-190, January.
    6. Paul J. Crutzen, 2002. "Geology of mankind," Nature, Nature, vol. 415(6867), pages 23-23, January.
    7. K. Frieler & M. Meinshausen & A. Golly & M. Mengel & K. Lebek & S. D. Donner & O. Hoegh-Guldberg, 2013. "Limiting global warming to 2 °C is unlikely to save most coral reefs," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(2), pages 165-170, February.
    8. Martin L. Weitzman, 1998. "The Noah's Ark Problem," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(6), pages 1279-1298, November.
    9. Malthus, Thomas Robert, 1798. "An Essay on the Principle of Population," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number malthus1798.
    10. McPherson, Michael A. & Nieswiadomy, Michael L., 2005. "Environmental Kuznets curve: threatened species and spatial effects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 395-407, November.
    11. James E. M. Watson & Nigel Dudley & Daniel B. Segan & Marc Hockings, 2014. "The performance and potential of protected areas," Nature, Nature, vol. 515(7525), pages 67-73, November.
    12. Bradley J. Cardinale & J. Emmett Duffy & Andrew Gonzalez & David U. Hooper & Charles Perrings & Patrick Venail & Anita Narwani & Georgina M. Mace & David Tilman & David A. Wardle & Ann P. Kinzig & Gre, 2012. "Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity," Nature, Nature, vol. 486(7401), pages 59-67, June.
    13. Stuart L. Pimm & Peter Raven, 2000. "Extinction by numbers," Nature, Nature, vol. 403(6772), pages 843-845, February.
    14. Brian Czech & Julianne H. Mills Busa & Roger M. Brown, 2012. "Effects of economic growth on biodiversity in the United States," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 0(3), pages 160-166, August.
    15. Andrew Metrick & Martin L. Weitzman, 1996. "Patterns of Behavior in Endangered Species Preservation," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 72(1), pages 1-16.
    16. Felicia Keesing & Lisa K. Belden & Peter Daszak & Andrew Dobson & C. Drew Harvell & Robert D. Holt & Peter Hudson & Anna Jolles & Kate E. Jones & Charles E. Mitchell & Samuel S. Myers & Tiffany Bogich, 2010. "Impacts of biodiversity on the emergence and transmission of infectious diseases," Nature, Nature, vol. 468(7324), pages 647-652, December.
    17. Baumgartner, Stefan & Becker, Christian & Faber, Malte & Manstetten, Reiner, 2006. "Relative and absolute scarcity of nature. Assessing the roles of economics and ecology for biodiversity conservation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(4), pages 487-498, October.
    18. Daly, Herman E, 1974. "The Economics of the Steady State," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(2), pages 15-21, May.
    19. Mills, Julianne H. & Waite, Thomas A., 2009. "Economic prosperity, biodiversity conservation, and the environmental Kuznets curve," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 2087-2095, May.
    20. Conrad, Jon M., 2018. "Real Options for Endangered Species," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 59-64.
    21. Richard Grenyer & C. David L. Orme & Sarah F. Jackson & Gavin H. Thomas & Richard G. Davies & T. Jonathan Davies & Kate E. Jones & Valerie A. Olson & Robert S. Ridgely & Pamela C. Rasmussen & Tzung-Su, 2006. "Global distribution and conservation of rare and threatened vertebrates," Nature, Nature, vol. 444(7115), pages 93-96, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kaitlin Kish & Joshua Farley, 2021. "A Research Agenda for the Future of Ecological Economics by Emerging Scholars," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Ai, Hongshan & Zhou, Zhengqing, 2023. "Green growth: The impact of urban forest construction on economic growth in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    3. Davor Mance & Katarina Krunić & Diana Mance, 2021. "Protecting Species by Promoting Protected Areas and Human Development—A Panel Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Joeri Sol, 2018. "Economics in the Anthropocene: Species Extinction or Steady State Economics," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 18-039/VIII, Tinbergen Institute, revised 07 Oct 2018.
    2. Ariane Amin & Johanna Choumert, 2015. "Development and biodiversity conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa: A spatial analysis," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(1), pages 729-744.
    3. Yutong Zhang & Wei Zhou & Danxue Luo, 2023. "The Relationship Research between Biodiversity Conservation and Economic Growth: From Multi-Level Attempts to Key Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    4. Liang, Yuanning & Rudik, Ivan & Zou, Eric Yongchen, 2021. "Economic Production and Biodiversity in the United States," SocArXiv qy76a, Center for Open Science.
    5. Ariane Manuela Amin & Johanna Choumert, 2013. "Development and biodiversity conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa: A spatial analysis," CERDI Working papers halshs-00799175, HAL.
    6. Cairns, Robert D. & Del Campo, Stellio & Martinet, Vincent, 2019. "Sustainability of an economy relying on two reproducible assets," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 145-160.
    7. Paul L. G. Vlek & Asia Khamzina & Hossein Azadi & Anik Bhaduri & Luna Bharati & Ademola Braimoh & Christopher Martius & Terry Sunderland & Fatemeh Taheri, 2017. "Trade-Offs in Multi-Purpose Land Use under Land Degradation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-19, November.
    8. Bogoni, Juliano André & Peres, Carlos A. & Ferraz, Katia M.P.M.B., 2020. "Effects of mammal defaunation on natural ecosystem services and human well being throughout the entire Neotropical realm," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    9. Berthold, Anne & Cologna, Viktoria & Siegrist, Michael, 2022. "The influence of scarcity perception on people's pro-environmental behavior and their readiness to accept new sustainable technologies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    10. David I. Stern, 2017. "The environmental Kuznets curve after 25 years," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 7-28, April.
    11. Daniels, Silvie & Bellmore, J. Ryan & Benjamin, Joseph R. & Witters, Nele & Vangronsveld, Jaco & Van Passel, Steven, 2018. "Quantification of the Indirect Use Value of Functional Group Diversity Based on the Ecological Role of Species in the Ecosystem," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 181-194.
    12. Linnenluecke, Martina K. & Smith, Tom & McKnight, Brent, 2016. "Environmental finance: A research agenda for interdisciplinary finance research," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 124-130.
    13. Iritie, Jean-Jacques, 2015. "Economic Growth, Biodiversity and Conservation Policies in Africa: an Overview," MPRA Paper 62005, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Ethan Gordon & Federico Davila & Chris Riedy, 2022. "Transforming landscapes and mindscapes through regenerative agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 809-826, June.
    15. Magazzino, Cosimo & Drago, Carlo & Schneider, Nicolas, 2023. "Evidence of supply security and sustainability challenges in Nigeria’s power sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    16. Hallegatte, Stephane & Heal, Geoffrey & Fay, Marianne & Treguer, David, 2011. "From growth to green growth -- a framework," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5872, The World Bank.
    17. Courtois, Pierre & Figuières, Charles & Mulier, Chloe, 2019. "A Tale of Two Diversities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 133-147.
    18. Mills Busa, Julianne H., 2013. "Dynamite in the EKC tunnel? Inconsistencies in resource stock analysis under the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 116-126.
    19. Perry, Neil, 2010. "The ecological importance of species and the Noah's Ark problem," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 478-485, January.
    20. Pierre-André Jouvet & Gregory Ponthiere, 2011. "Survival, reproduction and congestion: the spaceship problem re-examined," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 233-273, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:165:y:2019:i:c:23. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.