ECOS3013 Strong versus weak sustainability
Strong versus weak sustainability
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ECOS3013 Tutorial 10
Question 1: Strong versus weak sustainability
A Briefly explain what it means for manufactured capital and natural capital to be substitutes, and
what it means for them to be complements.
B Give an example of natural and artificial capital that are complements, and an example where they
are substitutes
C This question for discussion only—will not be tested: You’ve probably noticed that economics rarely
lists energy or nature in production functions. What do you think of this?
A critic of mainstream economics says that it is absolutely crazy to talk about production functions
without considering energy, resources, or ecosystem services provided by nature. Give a brief
argument why not explicitly listing energy or nature or ecosystem services in production functions
is not a problem.
Question 2: Ecological Economics
This question is based on this reading What is ‘ecological economics’ and why do we need to talk about it?
A Briefly mention something from the article you think is a good critique of environmental economics
B For discussion only Was there anything you disagreed with in the article?
Question 3: Environmental Kuznets Curve
A Briefly explain what an Environmental Kuznets Curve is.
B Briefly explain a reason that an Environmental Kuznet Curve might not occur, even in the future,
for carbon emissions.
C Explain the scale, technique, and composition effects in changes in pollution.
D Explain the scale, technique, and composition effects in changes in pollution. Assume that the
scale effect is positive, but the technique and composition effects are negative. If the technique and
composition effects dominate (are larger than) the scale effect, does pollution go up or down?