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The Middle-class Collapse and the Environment

Author

Listed:
  • Alban Verchère

    (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Université de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

The thesis that unequal societies are harmful to the planet was defended by Boyce (1994) in a framework based on the unequal bargaining power between rich and poor. Our study reinvestigates this theory by removing any reference to power in order to study the conditions under which it can still occur. We show that a middle-class collapse can aggravate or alleviate the burden on the planet, depending on income disparities and weight of upward vs. downward mobility. Moreover, the paper shows how an appropriate Environmental policy can increase the political acceptability of a Social one designed for mitigating the deleterious effects of a middle-class collapse through the reduction of (ex-post) income disparities.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Alban Verchère, 2017. "The Middle-class Collapse and the Environment," Post-Print halshs-01421387, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01421387
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    Cited by:

    1. Ren, Zhiyuan & Zhu, Yuhan, 2025. "The trade-off between middle class and ecological footprint: Empirical cross-country analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • 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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