Economic growth, as we know it today, cannot persist indefinitely if it entails continuous degradation of natural resources and the environment. While in a few countries around the world, it appears that environmental degradation has been the result of rapid economic growth, in the vast majority of the developing countries the environment has been equally spoiled despite slow or even negative economic growth. This book provides new insights on the common roots of economic stagnation, poverty and environmental degradation which, unfortunately, generally reside in misguided government policies and priorities. By doing this, the volume seeks to provide a broader policy option framework than those found in conventional policy analyses, mainly dominated by the "Washington Consensus". It shows that a major omission of the conventional view is that governments tend to allocate government expenditures in a biased way favouring subsidies to the economic elites to the detriment of investments in public goods, including human capital, R&D, as well as the development of institutions (environmental and otherwise), which are vital for long run growth, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability.
Table of contents:
0. Sustainable Development: Towards a Broader Policy Agenda;
1. Natural Capital, Resource Dependency and Poverty in Developing Countries: The Problem of "Dualism within Dualism";
2. Measuring Development Prospects by 'Greening' the National Accounts;
3. Impacts of Macroeconomic Policies on the Environment, Natural Resources and Welfare in Developing Countries;
4. Political Economy and Natural Resource Use;
5. Structural Adjustment and Sustainable Development;
6. Trade and the Environment in Developing Economies;
7. Environmental Policy Instruments in Developing Countries;
8. Energy, Equity and Economic Development;
9. Water Institutional Reforms in Developing Countries: Insights, Evidences, and Case Studies;
10. Water Quality Issues in Developing Countries;
11. Urban Air Pollution, Health and Policy Instruments;
12. The Economics of Terrestrial Biodiversity Conservation in Developing Nations;
13. Conservation of Tropical Forests: Addressing Market Failure
0. Sustainable Development: Towards a Broader Policy Agenda; 1. Natural Capital, Resource Dependency and Poverty in Developing Countries: The Problem of "Dualism within Dualism"; 2. Measuring Development Prospects by 'Greening' the National Accounts; 3. Impacts of Macroeconomic Policies on the Environment, Natural Resources and Welfare in Developing Countries; 4. Political Economy and Natural Resource Use; 5. Structural Adjustment and Sustainable Development; 6. Trade and the Environment in Developing Economies; 7. Environmental Policy Instruments in Developing Countries; 8. Energy, Equity and Economic Development; 9. Water Institutional Reforms in Developing Countries: Insights, Evidences, and Case Studies; 10. Water Quality Issues in Developing Countries; 11. Urban Air Pollution, Health and Policy Instruments; 12. The Economics of Terrestrial Biodiversity Conservation in Developing Nations; 13. Conservation of Tropical Forests: Addressing Market Failure; Appendix