Is Green Growth Good for the Poor?

The developing world is experiencing substantial environmental change, and climate change is likely to accelerate these processes in the coming decades. Due to their initial poverty and their relatively high dependence on environmental capital for their livelihoods, the poor are likely to suffer most due to their low resources for mitigation and investment in adaptation. Economic growth is essential for any large-scale poverty reduction. Green growth, a growth process that is sensitive to environmental and climate change concerns, can be particularly helpful in this respect. We focus on the possible trade-offs between the greening of growth and poverty reduction, and we highlight the sectoral and spatial processes behind effective poverty reduction. High labor intensity, declining shares of agriculture in GDP and employment, migration, and urbanization are essential features of poverty-reducing growth. We contrast some common and stylized green-sensitive growth ideas related to agriculture, trade, technology, infrastructure, and urban development with the requirements of poverty-sensitive growth. We find that these ideas may cause a slowdown in the effectiveness of growth to reduce poverty. The main lesson is that trade-offs are bound to exist; they increase the social costs of green growth and should be explicitly addressed. If they are not addressed, green growth may not be good for the poor, and the poor should not be asked to pay the price for sustaining growth while greening the planet.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Dercon Stefan
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2014-06
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE POVERTY, ABSOLUTE TERMS, ADVERSE IMPACTS, AGRICULTURAL GROWTH, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AIR POLLUTION, AIR QUALITY, ALLOCATION, ALTERNATIVE GROWTH PATHS, ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS, CAPACITY BUILDING, CAPITAL COSTS, CAPITAL INVESTMENTS, CARBON, CARBON ENERGY, CLEAN AIR ACT, CLEAN ENERGY, CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY, CLEAN WATER, CLEANER WATER, CLIMATE, CLIMATE CHANGE, CLIMATE RESILIENCE, CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, COAL, COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE, CONSUMERS, CONSUMPTION SMOOTHING, COST OF FUEL, COUNTERFACTUAL, DEFORESTATION, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING WORLD, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DEVELOPMENT REPORT, DISCOUNT RATE, DISCOUNT RATES, DISTRIBUTIONAL EFFECTS, DROUGHT, ECONOMETRICS, ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ECONOMIC ASSETS, ECONOMIC CHANGE, ECONOMIC COOPERATION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC GROWTH RATES, ECONOMIC INTEGRATION, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY, ECONOMIC RECOVERY, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, ECONOMIC REVIEW PAPERS, ECONOMICS, EFFICIENCY GAINS, ELASTICITY, EMISSIONS, EMPIRICAL BASIS, ENERGY PRODUCTION, ENVIRONMENTAL, ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS, ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES, ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION, ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS, EXPECTED RETURNS, EXPORTS, EXTERNALITIES, EXTERNALITY, EXTREME EVENTS, EXTREME POVERTY, EXTREME WEATHER, EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS, FARM WORKERS, FARMERS, FISH, FISHERIES, FOOD PRICES, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD SELF-SUFFICIENCY, FOSSIL FUELS, FRESH WATER, FUEL PRICES, GDP, GDP PER CAPITA, GLOBAL POVERTY, GROWTH CONTEXT, GROWTH MODEL, GROWTH POLICIES, GROWTH PROCESS, GROWTH PROSPECTS, GROWTH RATES, GROWTH THEORY, HIGH GROWTH, HIGH POVERTY, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN HEALTH, IMPACT ON POVERTY, IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, INCOME, INCOME GROWTH, INCOME RISK, INCOME SMOOTHING, INCREASE GROWTH, INCREASING RETURNS, INCREASING RETURNS TO SCALE, INEQUALITY, INFORMAL INSURANCE, INFORMAL INSURANCE MECHANISMS, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT, INSURANCE, INSURANCE MARKET, INTERGENERATIONAL EQUITY, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, JOBS, LABOR PRODUCTIVITY, LIQUIDITY, LIVELIHOOD SECURITY, LIVING CONDITIONS, LIVING STANDARDS, LONG RUN, LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES, LUMP SUM, MACROECONOMIC POLICIES, MARKET FAILURE, MARKET FAILURES, MICROECONOMIC ANALYSIS, MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES, MONETARY FUND, NATURAL CAPITAL, NATURAL RESOURCES, NEGATIVE IMPACT, OPPORTUNITY COST, OPPORTUNITY COSTS, OUTPUT GROWTH, PERSISTENT POVERTY, POLICY INSTRUMENTS, POLICY RESEARCH, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLLUTION, POOR, POOR COUNTRIES, POOR HOUSEHOLDS, POOR POPULATIONS, POSITIVE EFFECTS, POTENTIAL OUTPUT, POVERTY ALLEVIATION, POVERTY CHANGE, POVERTY DYNAMICS, POVERTY IMPACT, POVERTY PERSISTENCE, POVERTY REDUCTION, POVERTY TRAPS, POVERTY-REDUCING GROWTH, PRICE TAG, PRIVATE GOODS, PRO-POOR, PRO-POOR GROWTH, PRODUCERS, PRODUCTION PROCESSES, PRODUCTIVE ASSETS, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, PROPERTY RIGHTS, PUBLIC INVESTMENT, PUBLIC SECTOR, RAPID GROWTH, REAL INCOME, REMOTE AREAS, RETURNS TO SCALE, RICH COUNTRIES, RISKS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, RURAL, RURAL AREAS, RURAL LIVELIHOODS, RURAL POVERTY, RURAL SETTINGS, SAFETY NETS, SANITATION, SAVINGS, SECTOR ACTIVITIES, SHADOW PRICES, SKILLED LABOR, SKILLED WORKERS, SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE, SOCIAL COSTS, SOCIAL PROTECTION, SOIL DEGRADATION, SOIL EROSION, SPATIAL PROCESSES, STRUCTURAL CHANGE, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, TAXATION, TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS, URBAN AREAS, URBAN POOR, WATER POLLUTION, WATER PRICES, WATER PRICING, WEALTH, WELFARE ECONOMICS, WELFARE EFFECTS, WELFARE GAINS,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/06/19705684/green-growth-good-poor http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18822
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