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Fisher, Brendan

Natural Resources

2006

PhD

For the past hundred years the dominant economic paradigm, neoclassical economics, has been a major force for shaping the global development of economic, social and ecological systems. At the center of this paradigm is the belief in a selfregulating market system with the promise of continual growth. The idea of continual growth has in turn become the sine qua non of economies, government policy and the development agenda. However, this avenue of pursuit is severely flawed. The fact that the economic system is a subsystem of the earth's ecological systems is lost on the current economic paradigm. The implications of 'economy-as-subsystem' has serious consequences for the development goal of continual growth. One of the major considerations, in a finite world, is the importance of distribution issues, something the current economic paradigm has all but ignored. Taken that the world has limited capacity for economic growth, and that there are limits to the ability of ecosystems to provide goods and services at a sustainable level, distribution issues that come along with development in a full world are of vital concern. This scientifically based world-view calls for a dismissal of the neoclassical mindset, and a focus on the idea of sustainable development. Sustainable development inherently addresses distribution issues and has a much more comprehensive view on the constituents of real development, the development of quality of life not mere economic production. If the function of development is to provide this high quality of life, then equitable distribution of resources, ecosystem services, and market production becomes the keystone of any development agenda.
It is the goal of this dissertation to analyze and address some of the distributional issues ignored by the growth paradigm, but vital to the sustainable development paradigm. This research is divided up into discrete chapters all of which address real development as a function of distribution. The issues discussed in this text are: the relationship between economic growth in income distribution; the trade in hazardous waste and welfare consequences; the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning; socioeconomic considerations for conservation; and the role of local governance structures in addressing climate change. There are several general findings that emphasize the importance of distribution concerns on development and sustainability. (1) Contrary to textbook economic theory, there is no apparent trade-off between equity and economic growth. (2) In regards to the trade in economic 'bads,' (hazardous waste) a self-regulating market allocation is unlikely to be welfare enhancing, and likely to create barriers to long-term sustainability. (3) Biodiversity is a crucial component to natural ecosystem functioning in the lowlatitudes, where most of the global net primary productivity and biodiversity occur. (4) Socio-economic factors are key considerations for any effective, welfare producing system of ecological conservation. Acknowledging these factors greatly changes conservation prioritization. (5) Climate change policy can effectively occur on a number of governance levels, and it is vital to engage lower levels of governance when higher levels are inactive.