Directed technical change, environmental sustainability, and population growth
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Population growth has two potentially counteracting effects on pollution emissions: (i) more people imply more production and thereby more emissions, and (ii) more people imply a larger research capacity which might reduce the emission intensity of production, depending on the direction of research. This study investigates how to achieve a given climate goal in the presence of these two effects. A growth model featuring both directed technical change and population growth is developed. The model allows for simultaneous research in polluting and non-polluting technologies. Both analytical and numerical results indicate that population growth is a burden on the environment, even when all research efforts are directed toward non-polluting technologies. Thus, research subsidies alone cannot ensure environmental sustainability. Instead, the analysis highlights the importance of carbon taxes for climate change mitigation.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 102885 |
Journal | Journal of Environmental Economics and Management |
Volume | 122 |
Number of pages | 24 |
ISSN | 0095-0696 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
- Climate change, Directed technical change, Endogenous growth, Environmental policy, Environmental sustainability, Population growth
Research areas
ID: 370216598