Research On Degrowth

Abstract

Scholars and activists mobilize increasingly the term degrowth when producing knowledge critical of the ideology and costs of growth-based development. Degrowth signals a radical political and economic reorganization leading to reduced resource and energy use. The degrowth hypothesis posits that such a trajectory of social transformation is necessary, desirable, and possible; the conditions of its realization require additional study. Research on degrowth has reinvigorated the limits to growth debate with critical examination of the historical, cultural, social, and political forces that have made economic growth a dominant objective. Here we review studies of economic stability in the absence of growth and of societies that have managed well without growth. We reflect on forms of technology and democracy com-patible with degrowth and discuss plausible openings for a degrowth transition. This dynamic and productive research agenda asks inconvenient questions that sustainability sciences can no longer afford to ignore.

The Trade-off Between Poverty Reduction and Carbon Emissions, and the Role of Economic Growth and Inequality: An Empirical Cross-Country Analysis Using a Novel Indicator

“…In terms of policy implications, the current study reveals the potential use of composite indicators to disentangle the trade-offs between different dimensions of sustainable development (Campagnolo et al 2018;Cracolici et al 2009;Michalos 1997). The findings presented in this study strongly support the arguments of the degrowth (Kallis et al 2018) and agrowth (van den Bergh 2017) movements, especially for high-and upper middle-income countries. These movements and their related policies aim at shifting attention away from economic growth towards a better redistribution of resources (Steinberger and Roberts 2010).…”

“…Overall, the study provides an initial analysis of the effects of economic development and income inequality on the direct trade-off between poverty reduction and environmental degradation. The study concludes by discussing these findings in the context of both social and economic policy; in particular, the study suggests that the pursuit of economic growth in richer countries is not an environmentally sustainable solution to eradicate poverty (Kallis et al 2018). The results also highlights the tension between national and global sustainable development goals (Steffen et al 2015).…”

A critical framework for interrogating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda in tourism

“…Conceptualisations of post-capitalistic politics, degrowth and tourism can be linked through identifying the need to downsize global patterns of consumption and production (B€ uscher & Fletcher, 2017). Kallis et al (2018) argues that the concept of degrowth is being increasingly utilised among scholars who debunk growth-based economic development. They also highlight the need for "radical political and economic reorganization" to enact reductions in resource and energy usage (Kallis et al, 2018, p. 291).…”

Editorial: Blue degrowth and the politics of the sea: rethinking the blue economy

“…Since the first international conference on Degrowth in 2008 in Paris (see Degrowth Declaration of Paris 2008 Conference published by the Research and Degrowth in 2010), degrowth proponents have been organized in different social, political, and academic circles discussing the term, the possibilities of its application in practice, and the links with local projects focusing on agroecology, care 2 and education, as well as broader political-and institutional-strategies, among others (for a historical account of the evolution of the concept and the political and academic debates around it, see Demaria et al 2019;Kallis et al 2018). In 2018, an open letter put together by more than 200 scientists and signed by approximately 90,000 people 3 addressed the European Parliament and institutions and asserted that "Europe, It's Time to End the Growth Dependency" (Research and Degrowth 2018;The Guardian 2018;Demaria et al 2019).…”

“…more just and sustainable social and ecological imaginaries (Kallis and March 2015). At the same time, concrete political demands and actions are being put forward-the macrodemands mostly linked with the economic organization of life such as those included in the open letter, as well as the ones mostly linked with the socio-political organization of life, such as striving for autonomy, creativity, simplicity, and conviviality for a broader, more radical socio-ecological transformation; an indication of the maturity the degrowth discussions have reached (Kallis et al 2018;D'Alisa et al 2015a).…”