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Is China’s Growth Sustainable?

Author

Listed:
  • James Roumasset

    (Department of Economics, University of Hawaii at Manoa)

  • Kimberly Burnett

    (Department of Economics, University of Puget Sound)

  • Hua Wang

    (World Bank)

Abstract

A central pillar of the sustainability movement is the call to include environmental accounting in standard measures of economic performance. This increased transparency would, in principle, mitigate the temptation of economic managers and policy makers to increase growth in material consumption at the expense of the environment. Moreover, as Repetto (1989) and others have argued, deducting depreciation of produced capital from NNP but not deducting depreciation of natural capital is inconsistent and debases NNP as a possible indicator of welfare. Based on the evidence available, it appears that while GNNP is substantially less than NNP, these adjustments do not adversely compromise existing estimates of economic growth for China.

Suggested Citation

  • James Roumasset & Kimberly Burnett & Hua Wang, 2007. "Is China’s Growth Sustainable?," Working Papers 200723, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hai:wpaper:200723
    as

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    File URL: http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/workingpapers/WP_07-23.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2007
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sustainable development; China; genuine saving; SOx; NOx; TSP; resource depletion; natural capital; Environmental Kuznets Curve; green net national product;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Q2 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation
    • Q3 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation
    • Q4 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics

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