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Environment, Development, and Ecologically Unequal Exchange

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  • Andrew K. Jorgenson

    (Sociology Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3807, USA)

Abstract

I begin this paper with summaries of environment and development perspectives foundational to contemporary environmental sociology: ecological modernization theory and treadmill of production theory. Descriptions of the perspectives are provided as well as an overview of recent quantitative cross-national analyses that evaluate the propositions of both theories. Next, I provide a summary of ecologically unequal exchange theory. I argue that ecologically unequal exchange theory helps to address key limitations of both the treadmill of production and ecological modernization approaches, most notably their lack of attention paid to how structural and unequal relationships between nations influence environment and development associations. Next, I summarize bodies of empirical work within sociology that employ quantitative measurements and statistical modelling techniques to test the propositions of ecologically unequal exchange theory. I conclude by emphasizing the need for greater integration between ecologically unequal exchange theory, the two environment and development perspectives, and other political economy traditions. I also briefly discuss fruitful avenues for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew K. Jorgenson, 2016. "Environment, Development, and Ecologically Unequal Exchange," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:3:p:227-:d:64803
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gene M. Grossman & Alan B. Krueger, 1995. "Economic Growth and the Environment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(2), pages 353-377.
    2. Hornborg, Alf, 1998. "Towards an ecological theory of unequal exchange: articulating world system theory and ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 127-136, April.
    3. Arthur P. J. Mol, 2002. "Ecological Modernization and the Global Economy," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 2(2), pages 92-115, May.
    4. Kyle W. Knight & Juliet B. Schor, 2014. "Economic Growth and Climate Change: A Cross-National Analysis of Territorial and Consumption-Based Carbon Emissions in High-Income Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(6), pages 1-10, June.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Markus Vogt & Ivo Frankenreiter, 2022. "Bioeconomy: The Innovative Twin of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-13, November.
    3. Cristian BUSU & Mihail BUSU, 2017. "How Does Renewable Energy Impact Carbon Emissions? An Eu Level Analysis," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 11(1), pages 502-510, November.
    4. Chatalova, Lioudmila & Müller, Daniel & Valentinov, Vladislav & Balmann, Alfons, 2016. "The rise of the food risk society and the changing nature of the technological treadmill," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 8(6), pages 1-10.
    5. Tausch, Luca & Althouse, Jeffrey, 2025. "Ecologically unequal exchange (EUE) as a multi-tiered hierarchy: Investigating the interdependence of global and domestic environmental inequalities to explain China's rise," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    6. Zhang, Hongwei & Shao, Yanmin & Han, Xiping & Chang, Hsu-Ling, 2022. "A road towards ecological development in China: The nexus between green investment, natural resources, green technology innovation, and economic growth," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    7. Hekmatpour, Peyman & Leslie, Carrie McLachlin, 2022. "Ecologically unequal exchange and disparate death rates attributable to air pollution: A comparative study of 169 countries from 1991 to 2017," OSF Preprints racms, Center for Open Science.
    8. Infante-Amate, Juan & Krausmann, Fridolin, 2019. "Trade, Ecologically Unequal Exchange and Colonial Legacy: The Case of France and its Former Colonies (1962–2015)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 98-109.
    9. Valeria Costantini & Valentina Morando & Christopher Olk & Luca Tausch, 2022. "Fuelling the Fire: Rethinking European Policy in Times of Energy and Climate Crises," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-18, October.
    10. Jared B. Fitzgerald & Daniel Auerbach, 2016. "The Political Economy of the Water Footprint: A Cross-National Analysis of Ecologically Unequal Exchange," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-16, December.
    11. Marcantonio, Richard, 2024. "Environmental violence and enterprise: The outsized role of business for environmental peacebuilding," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 67(6), pages 685-698.
    12. Kerber, Samuel W. & Gilbert, Alexander Q. & Deinert, Mark R. & Bazilian, Morgan D., 2021. "Understanding the nexus of energy, environment and conflict: An overview," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    13. Roos, Andreas, 2022. "Global asymmetries in the rise of solar power: An LCA-based account of ecologically unequal exchange between Germany and China 2002–2018," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    14. Althouse, Jeffrey & Guarini, Giulio & Gabriel Porcile, Jose, 2020. "Ecological macroeconomics in the open economy: Sustainability, unequal exchange and policy coordination in a center-periphery model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
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    16. Yan Wang & Tao Zhou & Hao Chen & Zhihai Rong, 2019. "Environmental Homogenization or Heterogenization? The Effects of Globalization on Carbon Dioxide Emissions, 1970–2014," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-23, May.
    17. Jesús Ramos-Martín & Fander Falconí & Pedro Cango, 2017. "The Concept of Caloric Unequal Exchange and Its Relevance for Food System Analysis: The Ecuador Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-15, November.

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