Economic Development, Climate Change, and the Environment

This book comes at a time when the world is confronted by one of the greatest challenges—the problem of environmental degradation. A collection of articles by renowned economists, scientists, and environmentalists, this book shows that while the state of the environment is intricately linked to economic development, the matter is in fact far more complex. One of the best-known connections is the Environmental Kuznet’s Curve hypothesis, the limitations of which, both empirically and theoretically, are dealt with in the early part of the book. This is followed by a discussion on the shortcomings of the Kyoto Protocol and the particular problem of green house gasses. The other issues covered are: the negative contribution of environmental pollution; trade liberalization and its impact on the environment of developing countries, both in the short- and long term; alternative energy sources.

1. Introduction: Environment and Development 2. Environmental Consequences of Liberalisation in Small Open Economies 3. Institutional Evolution and the Environmental Kuznets Curve 4. Environmental Degradation: Bridging the Gap in EKC Literature 5. Disentangling the Climate-Development Gordian Knot: Towards an Integrated Blueprint 6. A Future for the Kyoto Protocol? 7. Estimating Environmentally Sustainable Industrial Development: A Study of Thermal Power Generation 8. Sustainable Development and Public Goods 9. Smallholders and the Forest Logging Industry in the Brazilian Amazon 10. Bio-diesel as Alternative Fuel 11. The Jevon’s Paradox and the Evolution of Complex Adaptive Systems

Dr Ajit Sinha is Professor of Economics and Director of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune. He is presently a Visiting Professor at Maitre de Conference Associe, College de France, Paris. He has published extensively in journals of international repute, and is Member, Editorial Board for Encyclopedia of Political Economy published by Routledge. He is currently working on a book entitled Theories of Value from Adam Smith to Piero Sraffa. Dr Siddhartha Mitra is Reader, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune. Dr Mitra is a Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA. He has been consultant to the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi; Visiting Fellow, Centre for Development Research, Bonn; and Senior Fellow, Department of Economics, Melbourne. He has contributed extensively to academic journals and leading newspapers.