IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v220y2024ics0921800924000582.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decent living standards, prosperity, and excessive consumption in the Lorenz curve

Author

Listed:
  • Pauliuk, Stefan

Abstract

Sustainable production and consumption allows every individual to meet their basic needs and societies to flourish, all with limited overall throughput constrained by ecological ceilings. The question is how exactly basic needs satisfaction, flourishing societies, and limited throughput can come together. Based on the insight that decent living standards constrain the slope of the Lorenz curve for the lowest decile, a simple model can be derived that determines total consumption from only three factors: per capita decent living standards, the Gini coefficient of inequality, and population. With a constraint on maximum living standards, overall consumption splits into three components: basic needs satisfaction, prosperous consumption, and excessive consumption. The model calculates sustainable consumption corridors based on decent living standards and the acceptable maximum under ecological ceilings, while still allowing for reasonable levels of inequality and ample prosperous consumption. The model can be applied to economic and physical stock and flow indicators, and examples for all four combinations are provided. The work concludes with calling upon the research community to assess the inequality of physical stock and flow indicators related to human wellbeing, identify suitable physical wellbeing measures, and extend the debate on desirable levels of inequality to physical socio-metabolic indicators.

Suggested Citation

  • Pauliuk, Stefan, 2024. "Decent living standards, prosperity, and excessive consumption in the Lorenz curve," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:220:y:2024:i:c:s0921800924000582
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108161
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800924000582
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108161?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thitithep Sitthiyot & Kanyarat Holasut, 2021. "A simple method for estimating the Lorenz curve," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Johan Fellman, 2012. "Modelling Lorenz curve," Journal of Statistical and Econometric Methods, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 1(3), pages 1-5.
    3. Steinberger, Julia K. & Roberts, J. Timmons, 2010. "From constraint to sufficiency: The decoupling of energy and carbon from human needs, 1975-2005," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 425-433, December.
    4. P. A. Turner & C. B. Field & D. B. Lobell & D. L. Sanchez & K. J. Mach, 2018. "Unprecedented rates of land-use transformation in modelled climate change mitigation pathways," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 1(5), pages 240-245, May.
    5. Louis Mesnard, 2022. "About some difficulties with the functional forms of Lorenz curves," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(4), pages 939-950, December.
    6. zu Ermgassen, Sophus O.S.E. & Drewniok, Michal P. & Bull, Joseph W. & Corlet Walker, Christine M. & Mancini, Mattia & Ryan-Collins, Josh & Cabrera Serrenho, André, 2022. "A home for all within planetary boundaries: Pathways for meeting England's housing needs without transgressing national climate and biodiversity goals," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    7. Hana Kim & Hun Park, 2018. "PV Waste Management at the Crossroads of Circular Economy and Energy Transition: The Case of South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-15, October.
    8. Narasimha D. Rao & Jihoon Min & Alessio Mastrucci, 2019. "Energy requirements for decent living in India, Brazil and South Africa," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 4(12), pages 1025-1032, December.
    9. Wang, ZuXiang & Smyth, Russell, 2015. "A hybrid method for creating Lorenz curves," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 59-63.
    10. Thitithep Sitthiyot & Kanyarat Holasut, 2021. "A simple method for estimating the Lorenz curve," Papers 2112.15291, arXiv.org.
    11. Helmut Haberl & Markus Löw & Alejandro Perez-Laborda & Sarah Matej & Barbara Plank & Dominik Wiedenhofer & Felix Creutzig & Karl-Heinz Erb & Juan Antonio Duro, 2023. "Built structures influence patterns of energy demand and CO2 emissions across countries," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    12. Gastwirth, Joseph L, 1972. "The Estimation of the Lorenz Curve and Gini Index," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 54(3), pages 306-316, August.
    13. Milena Büchs & Noel Cass & Caroline Mullen & Karen Lucas & Diana Ivanova, 2023. "Emissions savings from equitable energy demand reduction," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 8(7), pages 758-769, July.
    14. Ian Gough, 2015. "Climate change and sustainable welfare: the centrality of human needs," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 39(5), pages 1191-1214.
    15. Joel Millward-Hopkins, 2022. "Inequality can double the energy required to secure universal decent living," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    16. Sen, Amartya K, 1976. "Poverty: An Ordinal Approach to Measurement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 44(2), pages 219-231, March.
    17. Christina Starmans & Mark Sheskin & Paul Bloom, 2017. "Why people prefer unequal societies," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 1(4), pages 1-7, April.
    18. Tomer Fishman & Niko Heeren & Stefan Pauliuk & Peter Berrill & Qingshi Tu & Paul Wolfram & Edgar G. Hertwich, 2021. "A comprehensive set of global scenarios of housing, mobility, and material efficiency for material cycles and energy systems modeling," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(2), pages 305-320, April.
    19. Alexander Lenger & Stephan Wolf & Nils Goldschmidt, 2021. "Choosing inequality: how economic security fosters competitive regimes," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 19(2), pages 315-346, June.
    20. zu Ermgassen, Sophus & Drewniok, Michal & Bull, Joseph & Walker, Christine Corlet & Mancini, Mattia & Ryan-Collins, Josh & Serrenho, André Cabrera, 2022. "A home for all within planetary boundaries: pathways for meeting England’s housing needs without transgressing national climate and biodiversity goals," OSF Preprints 5kxce, Center for Open Science.
    21. Narasimha D. Rao & Jihoon Min, 2018. "Decent Living Standards: Material Prerequisites for Human Wellbeing," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 225-244, July.
    22. Brand-Correa, Lina I. & Steinberger, Julia K., 2017. "A Framework for Decoupling Human Need Satisfaction From Energy Use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 43-52.
    23. Levesque, Antoine & Pietzcker, Robert C. & Luderer, Gunnar, 2019. "Halving energy demand from buildings: The impact of low consumption practices," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 253-266.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Frauke Wiese & Nicolas Taillard & Emile Balembois & Benjamin Best & Stephane Bourgeois & José Campos & Luisa Cordroch & Mathilde Djelali & Alexandre Gabert & Adrien Jacob & Elliott Johnson & Sébastien, 2024. "The key role of sufficiency for low demand-based carbon neutrality and energy security across Europe," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Frauke Wiese & Nicolas Taillard & Emile Balembois & Benjamin Best & Stephane Bourgeois & José Campos & Luisa Cordroch & Mathilde Djelali & Alexandre Gabert & Adrien Jacob & Elliott Johnson & Sébastien, 2024. "The key role of sufficiency for low demand-based carbon neutrality and energy security across Europe," Post-Print hal-04747574, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Okushima, Shinichiro, 2021. "Energy poor need more energy, but do they need more carbon? Evaluation of people's basic carbon needs," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    2. Whiting, Kai & Carmona, Luis Gabriel & Brand-Correa, Lina & Simpson, Edward, 2020. "Illumination as a material service: A comparison between Ancient Rome and early 19th century London," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    3. Vivien Fisch-Romito, 2021. "Embodied carbon dioxide emissions to provide high access levels to basic infrastructure around the world," Post-Print hal-03353919, HAL.
    4. Joel Millward-Hopkins, 2022. "Inequality can double the energy required to secure universal decent living," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Corlet Walker, Christine & Druckman, Angela & Jackson, Tim, 2024. "Growth dependency in the welfare state – An analysis of drivers in the UK's adult social care sector and proposals for change," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    6. Bärnthaler, Richard, 2024. "Problematising degrowth strategising: On the role of compromise, material interests, and coercion," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    7. Jingwen Huo & Jing Meng & Heran Zheng & Priti Parikh & Dabo Guan, 2023. "Achieving decent living standards in emerging economies challenges national mitigation goals for CO2 emissions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    8. Haberl, Helmut & Schmid, Martin & Haas, Willi & Wiedenhofer, Dominik & Rau, Henrike & Winiwarter, Verena, 2021. "Stocks, flows, services and practices: Nexus approaches to sustainable social metabolism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    9. Brand-Correa, Lina I. & Steinberger, Julia K., 2017. "A Framework for Decoupling Human Need Satisfaction From Energy Use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 43-52.
    10. WANG, Zuxiang & SMYTH, Russell & NG, Yew-Kwang, 2009. "A new ordered family of Lorenz curves with an application to measuring income inequality and poverty in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 218-235, June.
    11. Vita, Gibran & Lundström, Johan R. & Hertwich, Edgar G. & Quist, Jaco & Ivanova, Diana & Stadler, Konstantin & Wood, Richard, 2019. "The Environmental Impact of Green Consumption and Sufficiency Lifestyles Scenarios in Europe: Connecting Local Sustainability Visions to Global Consequences," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Virág, Doris & Wiedenhofer, Dominik & Baumgart, André & Matej, Sarah & Krausmann, Fridolin & Min, Jihoon & Rao, Narasimha D. & Haberl, Helmut, 2022. "How much infrastructure is required to support decent mobility for all? An exploratory assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    13. Bjoern Soergel & Elmar Kriegler & Isabelle Weindl & Sebastian Rauner & Alois Dirnaichner & Constantin Ruhe & Matthias Hofmann & Nico Bauer & Christoph Bertram & Benjamin Leon Bodirsky & Marian Leimbac, 2021. "A sustainable development pathway for climate action within the UN 2030 Agenda," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 11(8), pages 656-664, August.
    14. Heun, Matthew Kuperus & Owen, Anne & Brockway, Paul E., 2018. "A physical supply-use table framework for energy analysis on the energy conversion chain," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 1134-1162.
    15. Foramitti, Joël, 2023. "A framework for agent-based models of human needs and ecological limits," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    16. Morgan, J. & Chu, C.M. & Haines-Doran, T., 2023. "Competent retrofitting policy and inflation resilience: The cheapest energy is that which you don't use," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    17. Stefano Di Bucchianico & Federica Cappelli, 2021. "Exploring the theoretical link between profitability and luxury emissions," Working Papers PKWP2114, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    18. Chaudhuri, Kausik & Huaccha, Gissell, 2023. "Who bears the energy cost? Local income deprivation and the household energy efficiency gap," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    19. Richard Bärnthaler & Andreas Novy & Leonhard Plank, 2021. "The Foundational Economy as a Cornerstone for a Social–Ecological Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-19, September.
    20. Liesbeth de Schutter & Stefan Giljum & Tiina Häyhä & Martin Bruckner & Asjad Naqvi & Ines Omann & Sigrid Stagl, 2019. "Bioeconomy Transitions through the Lens of Coupled Social-Ecological Systems: A Framework for Place-Based Responsibility in the Global Resource System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-23, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:220:y:2024:i:c:s0921800924000582. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.