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Roads to prosperity without environmental poverty: The role of impatience

Author

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  • Dioikitopoulos, Evangelos V.
  • Ghosh, Sugata
  • Karydas, Christos
  • Vella, Eugenia

Abstract

This paper advances the hypothesis that impatience negatively depends on environmental quality and aims to explain why some countries stagnate in an ‘environmental and economic poverty trap’. For low levels of environmental quality, advancements in productivity lead impatient agents to direct income increases to consumption (rather than savings), depleting further the environment. Given that productivity increases do not help such economies to escape the trap (contrary to perceived notions), policies should focus on the implementation of behavioral changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Dioikitopoulos, Evangelos V. & Ghosh, Sugata & Karydas, Christos & Vella, Eugenia, 2020. "Roads to prosperity without environmental poverty: The role of impatience," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:186:y:2020:i:c:s0165176519304392
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2019.108870
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Christos Karydas & Evangelos V. Dioikitopoulos, 2020. "Sustainability traps: patience and innovation," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 20/330, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    2. Evangelos V. Dioikitopoulos & Christos Karydas, 2024. "Sustainability Traps: Patience and Innovation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(6), pages 1425-1444, June.
    3. Marco Vincenzi, 2023. "Mapping the empirical relationship between environmental performance and social preferences: Evidence from macro data," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(1), pages 85-102.
    4. Kei Hosoya, 2024. "Endogenous time preference and infrastructure-led growth with an unexpected numerical example," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 23(1), pages 3-32, January.
    5. Apergis, Nicholas & Gangopadhyay, Partha, 2020. "The asymmetric relationships between pollution, energy use and oil prices in Vietnam: Some behavioural implications for energy policy-making," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E70 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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