A Model of Consumption and Environmental Degradation: Making the Case for Sustainable Consumer Behavior.

This paper develops and examines a model of the relationship between consumption and environmental degradation, using the per-capita Gross Domestic Product as the proxy for consumer behaviour and per-capita carbon dioxide emissions as the indicator of pollution. The time path of emissions and consumption are modelled within a dynamic framework, and the result is expressed as an optimization problem from which Hamiltonian conditions are derived. These conditions are analysed through the use of a phase diagram, and the empirical section of the paper reveals the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and Gross Domestic Product values across nation-states as well as the United Nations classifications for development among countries. The paper closes with an examination of sustainable consumer behaviour that has global policy implications.

Main Author:	Adrangi, Bahram.
Other Authors:	Dhanda, Kathy K., Hill, Ronald Paul.
Language:	English
Published:	2004
Online Access:	http://ezproxy.villanova.edu/login?url=https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:176780