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Material Flows and Material Productivity in China, Australia, and Japan

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  • Heinz Schandl
  • James West

Abstract

This article presents material flows and material productivity data and indicators for Australia, China, and Japan for the period 1970 to 2005. The main data used come from a new material flows database for the Asia‐Pacific region that was assembled using up‐to‐date standardized methodologies of material flow accounting and significantly extends the knowledge base available for studies on resource use dynamics in the region. We show that the three nations studied here have diverging patterns of resource use, and that these patterns can be linked to interdependencies between them and the very different roles each nation plays within a globalized system of natural resource exploitation. We also conduct a brief analysis of the most important drivers of changes in their resource use over the period, using an IPAT framework (Impact = Population × Affluence × Technology). The fundamentally different economic structures and trading roles of each country, that is, primary resource provider (Australia), mature and advanced manufacturer (Japan), and rapidly industrializing developing country (China), lead to starkly different contexts in which appropriate policies to encourage sustainable resource use must be formulated.

Suggested Citation

  • Heinz Schandl & James West, 2012. "Material Flows and Material Productivity in China, Australia, and Japan," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 16(3), pages 352-364, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:16:y:2012:i:3:p:352-364
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2011.00420.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Nan Li & Tianzhu Zhang & Jianchuan Qi & Yuanyi Huang, 2015. "Using Multiple Tools to Analyze Resource Exchange in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Kassouri, Yacouba & Alola, Andrew Adewale & Savaş, Savaş, 2021. "The dynamics of material consumption in phases of the economic cycle for selected emerging countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    3. Martinico-Perez, Marianne Faith G. & Schandl, Heinz & Fishman, Tomer & Tanikawa, Hiroki, 2018. "The Socio-Economic Metabolism of an Emerging Economy: Monitoring Progress of Decoupling of Economic Growth and Environmental Pressures in the Philippines," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 155-166.
    4. Kostas Bithas & Panos Kalimeris, 2017. "The Material Intensity of Growth: Implications from the Human Scale of Production," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(3), pages 1011-1029, September.
    5. Hyeong-Woo Kim & Liang Dong & Seok Jung & Hung-Suck Park, 2018. "The Role of the Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) at the National Economy: An Input-Output Analysis on Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-19, December.
    6. West, James & Schandl, Heinz, 2013. "Material use and material efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 19-27.
    7. Yuhua Guo & Junmao Qie & Chunxia Zhang & Yuantao Yang, 2021. "Material flow analysis of zinc during the manufacturing process in integrated steel mills in China," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(4), pages 1009-1020, August.
    8. Yoshida, Keisuke & Fishman, Tomer & Okuoka, Keijiro & Tanikawa, Hiroki, 2017. "Material stock's overburden: Automatic spatial detection and estimation of domestic extraction and hidden material flows," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 165-175.
    9. Kovanda, Jan, 2022. "Monitoring food-related material flows with the use of economy-wide material system analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    10. Kristian Skånberg & Åsa Svenfelt, 2022. "Expanding the IPAT identity to quantify backcasting sustainability scenarios," Futures & Foresight Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(2), June.
    11. Thomas Wiedmann & Heinz Schandl & Daniel Moran, 2015. "The footprint of using metals: new metrics of consumption and productivity," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 17(3), pages 369-388, July.
    12. Awais Mahmood & Ahsan Farooq & Haseeb Akbar & Hafiz Usman Ghani & Shabbir H. Gheewala, 2023. "An Integrated Approach to Analyze the Progress of Developing Economies in Asia toward the Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-33, September.
    13. Izhar Hussain Shah & Hung‐Suck Park, 2021. "Chronological change of resource metabolism and decarbonization patterns in Pakistan: Perspectives from a typical developing country," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(1), pages 144-161, February.
    14. Ying Li & Robert J. S. Beeton & Xiaofeng Zhao & Yeting Fan & Qingke Yang & Jianbao Li & Linlin Ding, 2024. "Advancing urban sustainability transitions: A framework for understanding urban complexity and enhancing integrative transformations," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    15. Li, Ying & Beeton, R.J.S. & Halog, Anthony & Sigler, Thomas, 2016. "Evaluating urban sustainability potential based on material flow analysis of inputs and outputs: A case study in Jinchang City, China," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 87-98.
    16. Takam Tiamgne, Xavier & Kalaba, Felix K. & Nyirenda, Vincent R., 2022. "Mining and socio-ecological systems: A systematic review of Sub-Saharan Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    17. Anke Schaffartzik & Melanie Pichler, 2017. "Extractive Economies in Material and Political Terms: Broadening the Analytical Scope," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-17, June.
    18. West, James & Schandl, Heinz & Krausmann, Fridolin & Kovanda, Jan & Hak, Tomas, 2014. "Patterns of change in material use and material efficiency in the successor states of the former Soviet Union," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 211-219.
    19. Fishman, Tomer & Schandl, Heinz & Tanikawa, Hiroki, 2015. "The socio-economic drivers of material stock accumulation in Japan's prefectures," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 76-84.
    20. Ta-Thi Huong & Liang Dong & Izhar Hussain Shah & Hung-Suck Park, 2021. "Exploring the Sustainability of Resource Flow and Productivity Transition in Vietnam from 1978 to 2017: MFA and DEA-Based Malmquist Productivity Index Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-26, October.
    21. Alessio Miatto & Nargessadat Emami & Kylie Goodwin & James West & Mohammad Sadegh Taskhiri & Thomas Wiedmann & Heinz Schandl, 2024. "Australia's circular economy metrics and indicators," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(2), pages 216-231, April.
    22. Pothen, Frank & Schymura, Michael, 2015. "Bigger cakes with fewer ingredients? A comparison of material use of the world economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 109-121.
    23. Wei, Jianlimin & Chen, Wei-Qiang & Chen, Chuke & Huang, Yuanyi & Tang, Linbin, 2024. "Evaluating the bulk commodities supply risk from the perspective of physical trade," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    24. Kostas Bithas & Panos Kalimeris & Eleni Koilakou, 2021. "Re‐estimating the energy intensity of growth with implications for sustainable development. The myth of the decoupling effect," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 441-452, March.

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