| Environmental and Resource Economics in the World of the Poor Contributor(s): Dasgupta, Partha (Author) |
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ISBN: 0915707918 ISBN-13: 9780915707911 Publisher: Rff Press OUR PRICE: $37.95 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 1998 Annotation: An eminent social thinker explains his views on why traditional environmental and resource economics has not met the needs of the developing world. The gaps between haves and have-nots are so great, says Partha Dasgupta, that many of our basic premises are mistaken or irrelevant in other international contexts. Thus, "the environmental economics to be found in the literature in the North cannot much resonate in the South." This breach helps explain the exclusion of environmental concerns from economic modeling in poor nations, causing a gap in development economics and the understanding of poverty, and thus deepening economic and environmental peril. The author establishes important connections between poverty, high fertility, and malnourishment with environmental damage and civic disconnection. For example, communal ownership is common in poor rural areas. Democratic decision making allows affected parties to make their own decisions. Such self-determination often results in more careful use of resources, yet democracy is too rarely found in these areas. High birthrates also help lock communities into poverty and resource degradation. Dasgupta discusses the interrelationships among such varied factors. This assessment is a thoughtful contribution to development economics, environmental/resource economics, and our sociopolitical understanding of poverty. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Political Economy - Business & Economics | Development - Sustainable Development - Science | Environmental Science (see Also Chemistry - Environmental) |
| Dewey: 333.709 |
| LCCN: 97050282 |
| Physical Information: 0.21" H x 6.02" W x 8.88" (0.20 lbs) 40 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Developing World - Topical - Ecology |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: An eminent economist and social thinker explains his views on why traditional environmental and resource economics has not met the needs of the developing world. The gaps between haves and have-nots are so great, says Partha Dasgupta, that many premises of our analyses are mistaken or irrelevant in other international contexts. Thus, 'the environmental economics to be found in the literature in the North cannot much resonate in the South.' This breach helps explain the exclusion of environmental concerns from economic modeling in poor nations, causing problematic gaps in development economics, in understanding poverty, and in understanding what is, for some populations, a deepening economic and environmental peril. The author establishes important connections between poverty, high fertility, and malnourishment -- and environmental damage and civic disconnection. For example, communal ownership of resurces is common in poor rural areas. Democratic decisionmaking and self-determination could result in more careful use of resources, yet democracy is too rarely found in these areas. Also, high birthrates., resulting from several cultural and economic factors, lock communities in the grip of poverty and resource degradation. In assessing the interrelationships of these factors, Dasgupta makes a thoughtful contribution to development economics, environmental/resource economics, and our sociopolitical understanding of poverty. |