Energy, EROI and quality of life Lambert, Jessica G.; Hall, Charles A.S.; Balogh, Stephen ...
Energy policy,
January 2014, 2014-01-00, 20140101, Letnik:
64
Journal Article
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The near- and long-term societal effects of declining EROI are uncertain, but probably adverse. A major obstacle to examining social implications of declining EROI is that we do not have adequate ...empirical understanding of how EROI is linked, directly or indirectly, to an average citizen′s ability to achieve well-being. To evaluate the possible linkages between societal well-being and net energy availability, we compare these preliminary estimates of energy availability: (1) EROI at a societal level, (2) energy use per capita, (3) multiple regression analyses and (4) a new composite energy index (Lambert Energy Index), to select indicators of quality of life (HDI, percent children under weight, health expenditures, Gender Inequality Index, literacy rate and access to improved water). Our results suggest that energy indices are highly correlated with a higher standard of living. We also find a saturation point at which increases in per capita energy availability (greater than 150GJ) or EROI (above 20:1) are not associated with further improvement to society.
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•Large quantities of high quality energy appears to contribute to social well-being.•LEI examines the quantity, efficiency and distribution of energy within the system.•EROISOC of <25:1, <100GJ/capita and LEI<0.2 point to poor/moderate quality of life.•A threshold of well-being is: EROISOC of 20–30:1, 100–200GJ/capita and LEI 0.2–0.4.•Improvement in well-being levels off at: EROISOC>30:1, >200GJ/capita and LEI>0.4.
The link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and competitiveness has been examined mainly at the business level. The purpose of this paper is to improve conceptual understanding and provide ...empirical evidence on the link between CSR and competitiveness at the national level. We draw on an eclectic-synthetic framework of international economics, strategic management and CSR literatures to explore conceptually whether and how CSR can impact on the competitiveness of nations, and test our hypotheses empirically with a sample of 19 developed countries over a 6-year period. Our evidence suggests that CSR can make a significant positive contribution to national competitiveness, as measured by national living standards. We also find that countries with a relatively low innovation record can benefit more, as compared to highly innovative countries, by implementing nationwide CSR-based positioning strategies.
One of the principal goals of antipoverty efforts should be to improve the absolute living standards of the least well-off. This book aims to enhance our understanding of how to do that, drawing on ...the experiences of twenty affluent countries since the 1970s. The book addresses a set of questions at the heart of political economy and public policy: How much does economic growth help the poor? When and why does growth fail to trickle down? How can social policy help? Can a country have a sizeable low-wage sector yet few poor households? Are universal programs better than targeted ones? What role can public services play in antipoverty efforts? What is the best tax mix? Is more social spending better for the poor? If we commit to improvement in the absolute living standards of the least well-off, must we sacrifice other desirable outcomes?
Alleviating global climate change requires the development and adoption of green technology innovations. Particularly, the sustained economic growth requires green technology innovations in promoting ...carbon productivity, which is one of the central issues in raising standards of livings without detrimental consequences for global warming. However, the precise impacts of green technology innovations on carbon productivity are still unknown. Here we show that green technology innovations can only take effects for economies with high income, and it is difficult to find significant evidence that green technology innovations positively impact carbon productivity in less developed economies. The findings are quite robust using various alternative model specifications. Furthermore, our results demonstrate the importance of clarifying between development and adoption of green technology innovations. We propose that policy and public intention to raising living standard rather than environment, as well as lacking complementary supporting from other related innovations, represent barriers to adopt green technology innovations in less developed economies. In such countries, we anticipate our paper to attract attention to substantial upgrading of technologies by adopting green technology innovations in their new investments. The findings in this paper also highlight policies for encouraging worldwide green technology cooperation, such as accelerating green technology transfer across economies.
•Using a novel data of low-carbon technology stocks to measure green technology innovations.•Providing new evidences on the role of green technology innovations for carbon productivity.•The findings are quite robust using various alternative model specifications.•Two channels are proposed for explaining how income levels matter for the effects.•Highlighting policies for encouraging worldwide green technology cooperation.
Research on poverty in rich countries relies primarily on household income to capture living standards and distinguish those in poverty, and this is also true of official poverty measurement and ...monitoring. However, awareness of the limitations of income has been heightening interest in the role that non-monetary measures of deprivation can play. This book takes as its starting-point that research on poverty and social exclusion has been undergoing a fundamental shift towards a multidimensional approach; that researchers and policy-makers alike have struggled to develop concepts and indicators that do this approach justice; and that this is highly salient not only within individual countries (including both Britain and the USA) but also for the European Union post-enlargement. The difficulties encountered in applying a multidimensional approach reflect limitations in the information available but also in the conceptual and empirical underpinnings provided by existing research. The central aim of this book is to contribute to the development of those underpinnings and to productive ways of employing non-monetary indicators of deprivation. It will appeal to readers from diverse disciplinary perspectives, especially those concerned with substantive issues and policy implications. In addressing this audience it also provides a non-technical account of recent developments in the rapidly expanding academic literature, serving as a guide to those who wish to explore it in greater depth. The book maps out the current landscape and the best way forward, concluding by offering a critical evaluation of the EU's 2020 poverty reduction target. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/economicsfinance/9780199588435/toc.html
The Next Generation of the Penn World Table Feenstra, Robert C.; Inklaar, Robert; Timmer, Marcel P.
The American economic review,
10/2015, Letnik:
105, Številka:
10
Journal Article
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We describe the theory and practice of real GDP comparisons across countries and over time. Version 8 of the Penn World Table expands on previous versions in three respects. First, in addition to ...comparisons of living standards using components of real GDP on the expenditure side, we provide a measure of productive capacity, called real GDP on the output side. Second, growth rates are benchmarked to multiple years of cross-country price data so they are less sensitive to new benchmark data. Third, data on capital stocks and productivity are (re)introduced. Applications including the Balassa-Samuelson effect and development accounting are discussed.
Western notions of the ‘middle class’ are of little obvious relevance to developing countries. Instead, the middle class is identified here as those living above the median poverty line of developing ...countries, even if still poor by rich-country standards. Over 1990–2005, economic growth and global distributional shifts allowed an extra 1.2 billion people to join the developing world’s middle class. Four-fifths came from Asia, and half from China. Many of those in this new middle class remain fairly close to poverty. Only 100 million of the 1.2 billion would not be considered poor in any developing county. Economic growth typically came with an expanding middle class.
The article focuses on neuroticism and narcissism as essential factors connecting materialism with well-being. It aims to explain their role in the context of perception of a material standard of ...living and satisfaction of psychological needs indicated by attainment of important goals. We also examine if defining materialism in terms of values and in terms of the pursuit of extrinsic goals affects the studied relationships. The study was conducted on a sample of 415 young adults (aged 19–29). The results show that personality matters in explaining the link between materialism and well-being in young adults, but its role is ambiguous. Neuroticism on its own does not mediate the link, whereas narcissism has a salient suppressing effect on it. The role of personality is more pronounced in connection with other mediators. Neuroticism elevates the assessment of non-extrinsic goal attainment, whereas narcissism amplifies the assessment of a material standard of living and extrinsic goals attainment; that in turn elevates well-being acting contrary to the detrimental effect of materialism. The importance of the mediating variables depends on the conceptualisation of materialism. Materialism as a value is more sensitive to personality than materialism as a pursuit of extrinsic goals.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has developed as one of the major urgent threats to public health causing serious issues to successful prevention and treatment of persistent diseases. In spite of ...different actions taken in recent decades to tackle this issue, the trends of global AMR demonstrate no signs of slowing down. Misusing and overusing different antibacterial agents in the health care setting as well as in the agricultural industry are considered the major reasons behind the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. In addition, the spontaneous evolution, mutation of bacteria, and passing the resistant genes through horizontal gene transfer are significant contributors to antimicrobial resistance. Many studies have demonstrated the disastrous financial consequences of AMR including extremely high healthcare costs due to an increase in hospital admissions and drug usage. The literature review, which included articles published after the year 2012, was performed using Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar with the utilization of keyword searches. Results indicated that the multifactorial threat of antimicrobial resistance has resulted in different complex issues affecting countries across the globe. These impacts found in the sources are categorized into three different levels: patient, healthcare, and economic. Although gaps in knowledge about AMR and areas for improvement are obvious, there is not any clearly understood progress to put an end to the persistent trends of antimicrobial resistance.
Avec 9 % des réserves mondiales, la Nouvelle-Calédonie est par essence une terre de nickel. Fondamental pour le marché du travail calédonien, le nickel représente 20 % de la richesse marchande créée ...en 2019 sur le territoire. Dans cet article, nous cherchons à identifier la manière dont l’activité minière structure le territoire en s’intéressant aux niveaux de vie mesurés à partir des caractéristiques des logements et des équipements des ménages. À partir des inégalités de niveau de vie mesurées en 2009 et 2014 pour différentes aires géographiques, nous montrons sans ambiguïté l’amélioration et la convergence des niveaux de vie des Calédoniens dans cet intervalle. Finalement, la décomposition des inégalités de niveau de vie à la Shapley laisse apparaître une réduction de la contribution de l’activité minière aux inégalités qui tendrait à prouver que la richesse produite par cette activité se diffuse de mieux en mieux à l’ensemble de l’économie calédonienne.
With 9% of the world's nickel reserves, New Caledonia is by nature a land of nickel. Fundamental to the Caledonian labor market, nickel will account for 20% of the market wealth created in the territory in 2019. In this article, we seek to identify how mining activity structures the territory by looking at living standards measured on the basis of household housing and equipment characteristics. Based on living standards inequalities measured in 2009 and 2014 for different geographical areas, we show unambiguously the improvement and convergence of Caledonian living standards in this interval. Finally, the decomposition of living standards inequalities à la Shapley reveals a reduction in the contribution of mining activity to inequalities, which would tend to prove that the wealth produced by this activity is increasingly diffusing to the Caledonian economy as a whole.
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