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Is it Too Late for Growth?

Author

Listed:
  • Juliet B. Schor
  • Andrew K. Jorgenson

Abstract

The planet is on a path to catastrophic warming which calls for structural changes in the operation of Global North economies, not merely a transformation of energy sources, the core of “green growth†approaches. Our research on inequality and working time shows that these are powerful drivers of carbon emissions that can be the center of a progressive agenda supplementing energy transition. Our work also shows that disproportionality in emissions sources presents a policy opportunity. We challenge Pollin’s view that only growth-centric approaches are politically viable, and argue that progressive politics has moved from growth-centricity to needs- and people-centered policies. In our response, we argue that the recent rise of the Green New Deal is a strong piece of evidence for our position. JEL Classification: Q5, Q54, Q56

Suggested Citation

  • Juliet B. Schor & Andrew K. Jorgenson, 2019. "Is it Too Late for Growth?," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 51(2), pages 320-329, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:51:y:2019:i:2:p:320-329
    DOI: 10.1177/0486613419831109
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Don Grant & Andrew Jorgenson & Wesley Longhofer, 2013. "Targeting electricity’s extreme polluters to reduce energy-related CO 2 emissions," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 3(4), pages 376-380, December.
    2. repec:osf:socarx:r2fyt_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Grant, Don & Jorgenson, Andrew & Longhofer, Wesley, 2018. "Pathways to Carbon Pollution: The Interactive Effects of Global, Political, and Organizational Factors on Power Plants’ CO2 Emissions," SocArXiv r2fyt, Center for Open Science.
    4. Kevin Anderson & Alice Bows, 2012. "A new paradigm for climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(9), pages 639-640, September.
    5. Andrew K. Jorgenson, 2014. "Economic development and the carbon intensity of human well-being," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(3), pages 186-189, March.
    6. Ackerman, Frank & Stanton, Elizabeth A., 2012. "Climate risks and carbon prices: Revising the social cost of carbon," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy, vol. 6, pages 1-25.
    7. Jorgenson Andrew & Schor Juliet & Giedraitis Vincentas, 2017. "Income Inequality and Carbon Emissions in Post-Soviet Nations, 1992–2009," Ekonomika (Economics), Sciendo, vol. 96(3), pages 33-43, January.
    8. Richard York, 2012. "Do alternative energy sources displace fossil fuels?," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(6), pages 441-443, June.
    9. Gail Cohen & João Tovar Jalles & Mr. Prakash Loungani & Ricardo Marto, 2017. "Emissions and Growth: Trends and Cycles in a Globalized World," IMF Working Papers 2017/191, International Monetary Fund.
    10. James Boyce, 1994. "Inequality as a Cause of Environmental Degradation," Published Studies ps1, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    11. Jeroen van den Bergh & Giorgos Kallis, 2012. "Growth, A-Growth or Degrowth to Stay within Planetary Boundaries?," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(4), pages 909-920.
    12. Jackson, Tim & Victor, Peter A., 2016. "Does slow growth lead to rising inequality? Some theoretical reflections and numerical simulations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 206-219.
    13. Samuel Bowles & Yongjin Park, 2005. "Emulation, Inequality, and Work Hours: Was Thorsten Veblen Right?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(507), pages 397-412, November.
    14. Jorgenson, Andrew & Schor, Juliet & Huang, Xiaorui, 2017. "Income Inequality and Carbon Emissions in the United States: A State-level Analysis, 1997–2012," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 40-48.
    15. Boyce, James K., 1994. "Inequality as a cause of environmental degradation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 169-178, December.
    16. 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:

    1. Edwards, Zac, 2025. "Degrowth: What's in it for the labour movement?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    2. El Tinay, Hassan & Schor, Juliet B., 2025. "Do economists think about climate change and inequality? Semantic analysis and topic modeling of top five economics journals," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • 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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